TBILISI. Sept 3 (Interfax) - The Georgian Chief Prosecutor's Office made a statement on Tuesday concerning reports that former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili was held for some time on the Greek island of Samos, confirming that he was under the local police's supervision for several hours.
"The Georgian Chief Prosecutor's Office received a message from a Georgian law enforcement agency on September 1, from which we learned that Mikheil Saakashvili was taken under control by local police when he tried to enter Georgian territory," Georgian Chief Prosecutor's Office spokesman Irakly Chilingarishvili told journalists.
Greece was informed that Georgian authorities had started procedures to put the ex-Georgian president on the international wanted list through Interpol, he said.
"Greece asked us to confirm this information immediately. We forwarded the relevant confirmation, but, considering that the Red Notice had not been formally circulated in relation to Saakashvili, the Greek law enforcement had to free him several hours later," Chilingarishvili said.
A package of documents for declaring Saakashvili internationally wanted has already been sent to Interpol, Chilingarishvili said. "We have information that Interpol has accepted our request for consideration, but it's unknown so far when a decision is going to be made. We can't tell Interpol when it should make a decision," he said.
Georgian media reported citing the Georgian ambassador in Athens that Greek police had held a yacht carrying Saakashvili for four hours near Samos but then released it.
Saakashvili has been declared wanted in Georgia. The Tbilisi City Court had ruled earlier that Saakashvili, who is currently outside Georgia, be taken into custody pending trial.