Special penitentiary service: official report confirming former president Saakashvili’s poisoning not provided by anyone

The special penitentiary service on Sunday said it had not been provided with any official report, confirming the authenticity of information disseminated by the imprisoned former president Mikheil Saakashvili’s lawyer about the possible poisoning of the prisoner.

The statement of the penitentiary service responded to the claims of Saakashvili’s lawyer Valeri Gelbakhiani, asserting that Saakashvili had been poisoned and the foreign experts’ conclusion confirmed this fact, adding Saakashvili himself had had “suspicions” about it “a long time ago”.

The service said Saakashvili had been receiving “appropriate medical” care under the respective supervision in hospital and urged everyone to “refrain” from spreading “unverified and unsubstantiated” information to “avoid” misinforming the public.

Saakashvili was arrested in Tbilisi on October 1 after his clandestine return to Georgia. He had been found guilty of abuse of power in two cases in absentia in 2018, still facing additional charges including illegal seizure of property, embezzlement, illegal rally dispersal and illegal border crossing.