German lab conclusion rules out poisoning of ex-Interior Minister Merabishvili

The Georgian Ministry of Corrections has published the conclusions of a German lab regarding the health condition of imprisoned former Interior Minister Ivane (Vano) Merabishvili, amid speculations of Marabishvili’s lawyers that the former official has been poisoned in prison.

The ministry says that to “dispel all grounds” for the rumors, Merabishvili’s blood has been checked for heavy metals “and everything turned out to be in order.”

Blood samples were sent to Germany from Tbilisi by the European Linbach Diagnostic Group Mrcheveli.

The ministry also said that over the course of the past three months Merabishvili has undergone treatment at different hospitals in Tbilisi, which were chosen by him.

In mid-September the Ministry of Corrections responded to Merabishvili’s lawyers and made his diagnoses public.

The ministry reported that Merabishvili suffered from vasomotor rhinitis, Horner's syndrome and blepharoconjunctivitis.

Vasomotor rhinitis is inflammation of the membranes inside the nose; Horner's syndrome is a combination of symptoms that arises when a group of nerves called the sympathetic trunk is affected, while blepharoconjunctivitis refers to the irritation and inflammation of eyelids and conjunctiva.

• Merabishvili, one of the most influential figures of the United National Movement, was detained in 2013 and sentenced to five years in prison in 2014 for abuse of power, misspending of budget funds and bribing voters.
• In September 2016 Merabishvili was further sentenced to 6.5 years in prison for charges related to the beating of opposition lawmaker Valeri Gelashvili in 2005.