The Armenian authorities have refused to extradite Ilya Danilov, a journalist and former coordinator of Alexei Navalny’s headquarters in Lipetsk, to Russia.
He successfully crossed the Armenian-Georgian border and returned to Tbilisi, where he had been living since 2021 following his forced departure from the Russian Federation.
Danilov was detained in Armenia on August 1, 2026, where he had traveled to reset his legal period of stay in Georgia. He was taken into custody on the basis of an international wanted notice issued by Moscow in connection with criminal cases alleging “participation in the activities of an extremist organization” and spreading “fakes” about the Russian military.
A few hours after the arrest, Armenian law enforcement authorities released him, but he was unable to return to Georgia while local officials reviewed the Russian extradition request. For an entire month, Danilov stayed at a hotel in Armenia, waiting for the opportunity to leave the country.
