A Belarusian citizen facing political persecution in his home country has been detained in Georgia, human rights advocate Raman Kislyak told the outlet Pozirk. According to him, the Belarusian man now faces deportation back home.
The detainee’s name has not been disclosed for security reasons.
“Yesterday, on Friday, a Belarusian was detained who had applied for asylum [in Georgia] and was denied. He has not yet received the appellate court’s formal ruling, but as I understand it, the decision was negative. His temporary ID had expired, and his Belarusian passport had expired as well. Yesterday, during a document check in the metro, he was stopped and taken to the Migration Department. In the near future, he will be placed under arrest pending deportation,” the rights advocate noted.
He emphasized that the individual is facing politically motivated persecution in Belarus. “He applied for asylum on these grounds. Everyone gets rejected, and he was denied refugee status as well—by the Migration Department, the city court, and the appellate court,” Kislyak stated.