The head of the press office of the Patriarchate of the Georgian Orthodox Church, deacon Andria Jaghmaidze, made a statement to the journalists regarding the information about the poisoning of Reverend Shio. According to him, Metropolitan Shio (Mujiri) was feeling unwell, and the tests showed the presence of heavy metals in his blood.
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“The information that has been spread may hold some merit. It’s a fact that there were some changes in Reverend Shio's blood results, abnormally high content of heavy metals was found. It is very difficult to say anything for sure at the moment,” said Dean Andria Jaghmaidze.
According to him, Reverend Shio's condition has stabilized and he is involved in the daily work process.
“Whatever I say now, it will only be speculation and suspicions. There are basically two different opinions: one - it can be a case of natural illness, although it cannot be ruled out that there was intent, and his falling ill can be in someone's interest.
We were in research mode, we had to find out if there were any harmful substances in the food. That required time. What we can say for sure is that the food that he is getting now is healthy,” said Dean Jaghmaidze.
When asked whose interests could involve poisoning Reverend Shio, he replied: “I don’t know, I can’t say. In general, I think attempts of demonizing, discredit, and marginalize a person always precedes any such physical attack. So, I think we should not necessarily connect the campaign that is going on against the Reverend Shio and the church in general with what happened, although in theory, such a thing is possible.”
According to Andria Jaghmaidze, at this stage, the Patriarchate has not applied to the investigative agency.
On July 5, several TV companies reported that Metropolitan Shio was poisoned. According to the Mtavari Arkhi, arsenic was found in his blood, while Rustavi 2 reported that he was poisoned gradually over time. According to the TV Pirveli, forensic work has been conducted in Reverend Shio's office, and traces of arsenic and mercury were found.
