Georgia summons Polish diplomat after Polish doctors visit Saakashvili
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The Georgian Foreign Ministry has summoned the acting Polish ambassador to Georgia, Mariusz Piotr Żak, following an incident involving Polish doctors who visited former Georgian President and Ukrainian citizen, Mikheil Saakashvili, according to a message released by the ministry’s press service on July 17.
The meeting took place because of an incident when Polish doctors allegedly tried to illegally take Saakashvili's test samples out of the hospital.
Read also: Georgian authorities ‘waiting’ for Saakashvili to become disabled, says political scientist
"At the meeting, the Georgian side expressed concern over the incident with the Polish doctor," the statement said.
“The Polish diplomat was once again informed that the state is interested in the public having full information about Mikheil Saakashvili's health.”
Read also: Ukraine’s foreign ministry summons Georgian ambassador over Saakashvili’s health
The Georgian Foreign Minister called the removal of biological samples from the clinic a violation of procedure.
Tbilisi also said that the behavior of the Polish doctor "causes misunderstanding, concern, and also [results in] losing confidence in the entire process."
The Polish diplomat was asked to state his position on the incident. In response, the acting Polish ambassador to Georgia said that he did not know what caused this behavior of the Polish doctor.
In September 2021, Saakashvili returned to Georgia, where he was arrested by the Georgian authorities. Several cases have been opened against the politician, in which he was sentenced to six years in prison. In protest, the politician went on hunger strike several times, insisting that he was arrested on political charges.
According to Saakashvili's lawyers, family, and supporters, the politician's health condition is extremely serious as a result of the hunger strike and ill-treatment, and he needs treatment abroad.
In November 2022, the politician's lawyer, Shalva Khachapuridze, said that Saakashvili was diagnosed with dementia and tuberculosis. According to the politician himself, he could have been poisoned by Russian agents.
In February 2023, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the Georgian government was killing Saakashvili and called for him to be released for treatment in Ukraine or another country.
On July 3, Mikheil Saakashvili appeared at a court hearing online for the first time in a long while. Opposition media in Georgia published a photo of him with significant weight loss.
Read also: Zelenskyy expels Georgian ambassador
On the same day, Zelenskyy announced that he had ordered the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry to summon the Georgian ambassador, protest to him, and recommend that he leave Ukraine to consult with his own government.
Later, Georgian officials called Zelensky's actions "offensive," and the Georgian Foreign Ministry referred to Kyiv's actions as an "extreme form of aggravation" of relations between the two countries.
On July 12, after a six-month delay, doctors from Poland were allowed to visit Saakashvili. Later, Georgian authorities said that a doctor sent by the European Union had tried to illegally take a sample of tests and carry it out in his shoe. They released a video showing the doctor taking a small object out of his shoe.
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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
