Penitentiary Service: Statements of Saakashvili's poisoning are aimed at harming the interests of the state - artificial aggravation of the situation is an attempt to create a tense background before the court hearings
The Special Penitentiary Service issues a statement regarding the third president of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili.
According to the agency, the statements made by his lawyers regarding the poisoning of Mikheil Saakashvili "serve to create a wrong public perception and are aimed at harming the interests of the state".
In addition, according to the statement of the Special Penitentiary Service, "artificial aggravation of the situation is another additional attempt to create a tense background before court hearings, which is a visible example of pressure on the court."
"Due to the high public interest, the Special Penitentiary Service explains:
On May 31, 2022, in order to monitor the health condition of the convict Mikheil Saakashvili, the Vivamed clinic conducted a toxicological examination in the Mrcheveli laboratory. According to the results obtained on June 10, 2022, all indicators were normal.
On November 19, 2022, one of the lawyers defending the convict's interests, Valeri Gelbakhiani, announced the alleged poisoning of his client. As Mikheil Saakashvili noted on November 21, 2022 in connection with the indicated statement, he never told any lawyer that he suspected poisoning and called speculations on this topic "inappropriate".
On November 21, 2022, another lawyer of Mikheil Saakashvili, Shalva Khachapuridze, stated about the alleged poisoning of the convict, who did not believe that the said "post" was written by his client, because his health did not allow him to do so. However, after meeting with the convict, this lawyer soon confirmed the authenticity of the statement.
On November 22, 2022, taking into account the best interests of the patient, the Penitentiary Service requested to conduct a chemical-toxicological examination in the Samkharauli Forensics Bureau, which was approved. After that, on November 24, 2022, the Special Penitentiary Service, as the responsible state agency, offered the convict to conduct research, which Mikheil Saakashvili refused. This once again clearly demonstrates the attempt to manipulate public opinion.
On December 2, 2022, TV Pirveli aired a small and incomplete excerpt from the expert report conducted by the Empathy center, which, at their request, is confidential, which aimed to present the situation as if the convict Mikheil Saakashvili was poisoned. This type of deliberate, destructive action serves to create a wrong public perception of the convict's condition and is aimed at harming the interests of the state.
Once again, we explain that at this stage, the court must discuss the confidential report, some parts of which were orchestrated and made public by TV Formula. Artificial aggravation of the situation is another additional attempt to create a tense background before the court hearings, which is a clear example of pressure on the court.
We categorically call on the interested party to refrain from disclosing fragmentary sections of the conclusion which was made confidential at their own request, to respect the society and the constitutional order," the agency said in the statement.
