Piotr Müller was speaking at a news conference in Warsaw on Monday, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
Photo: PAP/Marcin Obara
He said that “a Polish humanitarian and medical aid team” was prepared to head to Georgia to treat Saakashvili.
The spokesman added: ”I can confirm that we have declared our readiness to provide medical assistance and that we have also taken formal steps. We are awaiting consent from the Georgian side.”
“It is our hope that the consent will be given,” Müller said. “If the Georgian authorities believe that there’s nothing they could’ve done differently, then I don’t see why they shouldn’t give the consent.”
He told reporters that "the medical care currently provided" to Saakashvili “has raised serious concerns among the international community.”
He declared: “We are prepared to verify these concerns by sending a medical mission directly to Georgia.”
Saakashvili’s prison sentence in Georgia
Saakashvili, who was president of Georgia from 2004 to 2013, is serving a six-year sentence for abuse of power, a charge he denies and regards as politically motivated, the PAP news agency reported.
A month into his prison term, in November 2021, following a hunger strike and reports of a life-threatening deterioration of health, Saakashvili was transferred to a prison hospital.
Late that month, a team led by doctor David E. Smith concluded, after examining Saakashvili’s hair and fingernail samples, that he had suffered from many pathological symptoms consistent with “heavy metal poisoning,” which occurred during imprisonment and contributed to a rapid deterioration of health, according to news reports.
In December 2022, Empathy, a Georgian charity, published a report on Saakashvili’s health, based on an examination carried out by a group of 16 Georgian and foreign experts. It found the former president was suffering from over 20 disorders, including 10 serious ones, and that “his health condition does not allow him to stay in prison,” the PAP news agency reported.
Despite these concerns, on February 6, 2023, a district court in Tbilisi rejected Saakashvili’s motion for release from prison or a postponement of the sentence due to health reasons.
Poland offers help
Saakashvili has repeatedly asked for permission to go abroad to receive appropriate medical treatment, according to the PAP news agency.
In mid-February, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki announced that Saakashvili could receive medical treatment in Poland.
In late February, Saakashvili thanked Poland for support after European Union member states issued a formal diplomatic warning to Tbilisi over his deteriorating health.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP, niezalezna.pl
Click on the audio player above to listen to a report by Radio Poland's Michał Owczarek.