Polish professional tries to sneak sample taken from ex-Pres. Saakashvili via shoe - Special Penitentiary Service

Medical professional from a visiting group of Polish doctors assessing the treatment offered by the staff of the Tbilisi’s Vivamedi clinic where the imprisoned former President Mikheil Saakashvili is receiving treatment attempted to sneak a sample taken from the former official through his shoe, the Special Penitentiary Service said on Friday. 

In a statement the Service said the doctors had been given official permission to take samples, and noted that “the doctor's actions create additional concerns and contradicted both medical ethics and legal norms”.

The Service stressed it had released the camera footage of the incident due to “high public interest” and called on everyone to refrain from “provocative and unlawful behaviour”.

In his comments to the media the Georgian Justice Minister Rati Bregadze asked the country’s foreign office to hear the position of the Polish Embassy in Georgia over the incident. 

On the backdrop of controversy caused by claims by Saakashvili’s family and legal team on inadequate provision of medical services on November 29, last year, Justice Minister Rati Bregadze advised imprisoned Saakashvili, who disregarded the advice of the treating physicians, to request the participation of any foreign physician from any international facility.

The lawyer of Saakashvili requested the entry of Polish doctors on July 5, 2023 and on July 12, the doctors were given permission to see the imprisoned former President.

Saakashvili is currently serving a six-year-term for abuse of power while in office in two separate cases, while three other cases involving him are still pending. He was arrested in Tbilisi in October 2021 after eight years abroad, following his clandestine return to Georgia ahead of domestic municipal elections.