A 22-year-old British Columbia man says a dream vacation became a terrifying ordeal after he was arrested in the country of Georgia for carrying prescription ADHD medication.
Simon Rovensky spent nearly two months in Gldani Prison before being released after his family raised tens of thousands of dollars to cover a fine, legal fees and other costs.
Now reunited with his sister in Turkey, Rovensky is speaking exclusively to Global News about his arrest, the conditions he endured in prison and the strangers whose generosity helped secure his freedom.
“I realized pretty much right off the start that I was going to get arrested,” Rovensky said.
“It was really scary because I described that I had this medication legally. When they asked me what it was, I showed them the bottle. It had the prescription tag on it with all of the information, the medication name, the dosage, my name and where I bought it.”
Rovensky said Georgian authorities appeared to regard the medication as a narcotic. Although it was in its original pharmacy container and he had a receipt, he did not have a paper copy of his prescription that had been translated into Georgian.
Authorities took his phone, leaving him unable to call his doctor or family, he said.
Rovensky said he was questioned for about six hours with the assistance of a translator whose English he had difficulty understanding.
“I also did request to call the consulate, but they denied that request,” he said. “They told me that somebody from the consul was going to come see me eventually.”
He said authorities then handcuffed him and filmed him being escorted through the airport.
“They actually took a video of my arrest,” Rovensky said. “I walked through the airport in front of everybody handcuffed. They did two takes. I don’t know why exactly. Maybe they didn’t like the first one.”
He said he was placed in an unmarked vehicle and taken first to a medical facility, where he underwent tests and further questioning, and then to a detention centre.
For his family in Canada, the first indication that something had gone wrong was a brief message from Rovensky.
“We were frantic,” his sister, Nika Rovensky, said. “My mom and my sister and I just got this text from Simon saying, ‘I’m being arrested. They took my ADHD pills. I don’t know what’s going on.’ And that’s it.”
Nika said the family did not initially know where he had been taken or whether he was safe.
“He just disappeared from the airport,” she said.
Rovensky had been travelling with a friend, who alerted the family. Simon said that without his friend’s help, he does not know how long it would have taken anyone to find him.
“If he wasn’t there, then I don’t know how long I would have been there without any contact,” he said.
Rovensky said he was unable to speak directly with his family for about two weeks.
His family also requested that Canadian consular officials conduct a welfare check.
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“We had requested a welfare check on Simon, and it wasn’t until two weeks later that they had actually done the welfare check,” Nika said. “We had to repeatedly follow up with them to do that, just to make sure that Simon had his basic needs being met.”
Global Affairs Canada did not provide details about Rovensky’s case, citing privacy considerations.
‘I didn’t know if I was ever going to see my family again’
Rovensky was eventually transferred to Gldani Prison, where he said he spent about 23 hours a day inside a small cell shared with five other people. Gldani prison is a notorious facility that has been the subject of international human rights concerns.
“It was very difficult, more so mentally than physically,” he said. “It was just the uncertainty of not knowing what was going to happen to me.”
“I didn’t know if I was ever going to see my family again or my friends, or if I was going to spend a very long time in prison.”
Rovensky described crumbling walls, exposed wiring, cockroaches and rats. He said insects sometimes crawled over prisoners while they slept.
“There was a large cockroach infestation,” he said. “They would crawl over you when you’d sleep.”
He said a piece of plaster and concrete once fell from the wall onto another prisoner while they were eating.
During his initial quarantine period, Rovensky said the lights remained on continuously and he had little access to personal items.
He said he was unable to shower for the first 10 days and wore the same clothing for weeks because people outside the prison were initially prohibited from delivering supplies.
“If you don’t have somebody on the outside that can bring you things, you’re pretty much stuck there with what you’re wearing,” he said.
Rovensky said prisoners were sometimes allowed onto the roof for about an hour, where they walked in circles inside an enclosed area.
Even that opportunity was not guaranteed, he said.
“If we got lucky, then we got the outside time,” Rovensky said. “Most of the time, it was just in the cell.
“You’re trapped in there.”
He also lost access to his ADHD medication.
Rovensky said the isolation, uncertainty and lack of treatment took a severe mental toll.
I was going crazy from overthinking,” he said. “My anxiety was through the roof. I couldn’t eat. I would wake up and have almost like a panic attack.”
For several weeks, he said, there were no English-language books available to occupy his time.
“All I could really do was just look at the ceiling and overthink, not knowing what’s going on,” he said.
Family calls for clearer medication warnings
Rovensky was released after paying a fine his family says was equivalent to approximately $16,000 Canadian.
Nika later said the fine was closer to $20,000 once converted, while legal fees, translation services and other expenses brought the family’s total costs to about $35,000.
The family says donations made through an online fundraiser on GoFundMe helped make his release possible.
Nika is now calling on the federal government to make warnings about travelling with medication more prominent.
She said hundreds of people contacted the family after the case became public, with many saying they had also travelled internationally with ADHD medication.
“Georgia has very specific laws that maybe not every traveller would think to check, especially if it’s their first time travelling,” she said.
Nika said the family wants travellers to be warned before they reach an airport in another country.
“There wasn’t even a question asked,” she said. “By the time you figure out that it’s illegal, it’s already too late, and you’re walking out of the airport in handcuffs.”
The family argues that Canadians may not realize medications commonly prescribed in Canada, including some ADHD and pain medications, can be prohibited or more heavily regulated elsewhere.
Global Affairs Canada spokesperson Charlotte MacLeod provided the following response to Global News:
“Global Affairs Canada monitors events worldwide that could affect Canadians and Canadian interests abroad, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and updates its Travel Advice and Advisories.
“The Travel Advice and Advisories are provided to help travellers make their own informed decisions regarding destinations. However, the decision to travel is personal, and individuals are responsible for their own safety while abroad.
“Canadians should consult the travel advisories regularly for the latest information and advice, including any advisories against travel. The latest travel advice and advisories for Georgia can be found online, including the Health section for this country.
“Consular services are tailored to the needs of the situation in accordance with the Canadian Consular Services Charter. For general information about the types of assistance that may be provided, refer to the department’s information on arrest and detention.
“Before travelling, Global Affairs Canada highly encourages Canadians to sign up online with the Registration of Canadians Abroad system to receive important updates, know where the closest Canadian office abroad is for consular assistance, and follow Global Affairs Canada’s travel accounts on social media.
“Due to privacy considerations, no further information can be disclosed.”
The department did not directly answer Global News’ questions about whether warnings involving prescription medications are sufficiently prominent or whether additional measures are being considered.
‘I hope one day I can pay back the kindness’
Rovensky is now in Turkey with his sister.
He said the experience changed the way he views his freedom, family and community.
“It really made me think about my life and how lucky I am to have the freedom I had, or took for granted,” he said.
“A lot of people in there didn’t have any of that, and I would just think for days on how lucky I am to have people that actually care about me and are there for me.”
Rovensky became emotional while speaking about the people who donated money, sent messages and supported his family.
“I’m forever grateful for every single individual, even people that didn’t know me,” he said. “Just out of the kindness of their heart, they felt for my situation and they showed their support.”
He said hearing that people in Canada, Georgia and elsewhere were following his case helped him endure his imprisonment.
“It was truly a morale boost to hear that so many people cared about my situation,” Rovensky said.
“I hope one day I can pay back the kindness. I’m very, very grateful to every single person from Canada, from Georgia, from everywhere in the world. There was just a lot of support, and I couldn’t be more grateful.”
The family says any money left over from the GoFundMe will be donated to a charity supporting people with ADHD.
