Georgia's Government Continues to Expel Political Migrants

In a recent development, the Georgian authorities have denied international protection to Belarusian human rights activist Roman Kislyak, according to the publication "Pozirk."

Roman Kislyak received a response from the Migration Department of Georgia's Ministry of Internal Affairs, which stated that while he meets the criteria outlined by the Geneva Convention on the Status of Refugees and Georgia's law on international protection, there are "sufficient grounds to assume" that his presence may "contradict the interests of the country."

"Georgia considers me a threat to national security. This was somewhat expected. We deliberately organized pickets," Kislyak said, referring to his protest in May against the prolonged processing of asylum requests in Tbilisi. The Belarusian activist is now in a precarious situation, as his Belarusian passport has expired, along with his Georgian temporary identity card. Kislyak noted that other Belarusians are facing similar issues, with their documents expiring during the asylum process.

Kislyak plans to appeal the decision of the Georgian authorities in court.

Meanwhile, on August 3, Azerbaijani journalist Afghan Sadigly was detained in Tbilisi at the request of the Baku prosecutor's office, which had declared him wanted on dubious charges. Sadigly’s Georgian lawyer challenged the official statement about the journalist's wanted status by presenting a certificate from ASAN Xidmət, Azerbaijan's state agency, confirming that there were no criminal records against Afghan Sadigly. The document, signed a month after Sadigly was allegedly declared wanted, indicated that Azerbaijan's Ministry of Internal Affairs had not actually been seeking him, according to the lawyer.

Despite this, a court in Tbilisi sentenced Sadigly to two months in detention, during which he could be extradited to Azerbaijan. This case echoes a similar incident from several years ago when Georgian police detained another journalist, Afgan Mukhtarli, in Tbilisi and handed him over to Baku, where he was subsequently convicted and served a prison sentence.

These cases highlight the ongoing challenges faced by political migrants in Georgia, raising concerns about the country's commitment to international protection standards and its handling of politically sensitive extraditions.