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A Vancouver man is facing months of detainment in the Eastern European country of Georgia after his family says he did not have a prescription for his attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) medication.
Simon Rovensky, 22, was carrying an orange bottle of prescribed Adderall, with his doctor’s name on it, while on a visit to Georgia with a friend, according to his sister Nika Rovensky.
But he was stopped at the airport around a month ago — and Nika says the officers there didn’t accept a receipt from the pharmacy as evidence of the prescription.
“He was subject to seven hours of interrogation with his friend before they were separated. And then we completely lost contact with him for 48 hours,” Nika told CBC’s Hanomansing Tonight.
“We had no idea if he was being hurt or where he was in the country. So it was obviously extremely scary for our whole family.”
A 22-year-old Canadian man travelling to Georgia has been detained for carrying his ADHD medication without its original packaging and a doctor’s note. Simon Rovensky’s sister, Nika Rovensky, shares what his experience has been like.
According to an online fundraiser that Nika set up, Simon and his friend were both subjected to an invasive search at the border.
Nika says he has been charged with smuggling and narcotics offences and is being held at Gldani Prison, north of Tbilisi.
According to the Georgian Ministry of Justice, the European Court of Human Rights found torture and ill-treatment of prisoners in Georgian prisons until 2012 — including at Gldani.
While the family has since sent Simon’s prescription to Georgian authorities, Nika claims prosecutors said he would still be detained, as he didn’t have it when stopped at the airport.
Adderall contains amphetamines, which are listed under Georgian law as “narcotic drugs of the highest medical and social risks.”
Simon faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted, as well as a hefty fine, and his family claims he is being held in prison for nearly two months.
“Him just travelling and not thinking twice about [the prescription], you know, it was his mistake,” Nika said.
“But what happened next was just insane. Like the fact that he’s looking … at 12 to 20 years in prison and tens of thousands of dollars as a fine is completely crazy.”
A spokesperson for Global Affairs Canada, in response to an inquiry about Rovensky, said it was aware of a Canadian citizen being arrested in Georgia.
“Consular officials are providing consular assistance and are in contact with local authorities,” they said.
“Due to privacy considerations, no further information can be disclosed.”
Nika claims that consular officials took over two weeks to conduct a wellness check on her brother, by which time the family had already hired a lawyer.
The fundraiser aims to provide money that would allow Simon’s family to pay a court-ordered fine, after which the lawyer says he would be deported back to Canada.
“Let this be a warning to the other Canadians out there that might be travelling with their ADHD medication — facing these, you know, very severe penalties and years and years in prison. Like it’s not OK,” Nika said.
“And I really hope that more is done from the government to help.”
