{"id":205334,"date":"2026-09-26T20:29:24","date_gmt":"2026-09-26T17:29:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/205334\/"},"modified":"2026-09-26T20:29:26","modified_gmt":"2026-09-26T17:29:26","slug":"tbilisi-says-belarusian-activist-did-not-qualify-for-international-protection","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/205334\/","title":{"rendered":"Tbilisi says Belarusian activist did not qualify for international protection"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n\n Le\u016d Michieje in Tbilisi\n <\/div>\n \n
\n (Raman Ki\u015blak for Pozirk)<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

September 26, Pozirk.<\/em><\/strong> The Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs has responded to the public outcry sparked by the deportation of Belarusian exiled activist Le\u016d Michieje\u016d, describing reports about the man as \u201cdistorted and misinterpreted.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Georgian authorities confirmed that the activist applied for international protection in 2021, citing \u201cpolitical activities in the Republic of Belarus\u201d as the reason. The migration department reviewed the case and denied the request in late September 2024, concluding that there were \u201cno legal grounds for granting the status.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Michieje\u016d appealed the decision at the Tbilisi City Court and the Court of Appeals, which reportedly upheld the migration department\u2019s decision. Since June 29, the man was no longer considered an asylum seeker in Georgia, the ministry officials said, referring to him as \u201can undocumented immigrant.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following his arrest yesterday, Michieje\u016d exercised \u201chis legal right and left Georgia, heading to a safe third country,\u201d they noted. The activist went to Armenia, where he was detained at the request of the Belarusian authorities, as Minsk entered his name into the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) intergovernmental wanted persons database.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, Yerevan, which has been pursuing closer ties with the European Union, does not extradite individuals persecuted for political reasons. Michieje\u016d has been released, rights activist Raman Ki\u015blak told\u00a0Pozirk<\/em> today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many Belarusians moved to Georgia to escape politically-motivated persecution unleashed by the Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka regime following the 2020 post-election protests. Georgia has not granted asylum to a single Belarusian under the Georgian Dream government of pro-Russian oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili in recent years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Georgian migration authorities have intensified their anti-immigration campaign and have been conducting raids to identify undocumented migrants, including door-to-door checks, with Belarusians among those targeted. Local media and diaspora activists have reported cases of foreigners being deported on what they describe as trumped-up grounds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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