{"id":205718,"date":"2026-09-30T21:56:31","date_gmt":"2026-09-30T18:56:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/205718\/"},"modified":"2026-09-30T21:56:34","modified_gmt":"2026-09-30T18:56:34","slug":"belarusian-set-to-apply-for-political-asylum-in-armenia-following-deportation-from-georgia","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/205718\/","title":{"rendered":"Belarusian set to apply for political asylum in Armenia following deportation from Georgia"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

September 30, Pozirk<\/em>.<\/strong> Belarusian community activist Le\u016d Michieje\u016d, who was arrested in Georgia on September 25 and expelled to Armenia, has announced plans to apply for political asylum in that country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Michieje\u016d has managed to find fairly inexpensive accommodation, as rents in Armenia are surging amid an influx of migrants from Russia, who are fleeing a feared new wave of mobilization for the war in Ukraine, human rights activist Raman Ki\u015blak has told Pozirk<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Belarusians living abroad continue raising funds for Michieje\u016d, Ki\u015blak said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fundraiser was launched on September 29 to help Michieje\u016d cover legal fees, housing costs and other immediate expenses in Armenia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Le\u016d Michieje\u016d was arrested and expelled after the rejection of his asylum application by Tbilisi. Upon arrival in Armenia, he was arrested at the request of the Belarusian authorities, who had entered his name into the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) intergovernmental wanted persons database. He was soon released, as Yerevan, which has been pursuing closer ties with the European Union, does not extradite individuals persecuted for political reasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Michieje\u016d has been waiting for asylum in Georgia since 2021, longer than almost any of his fellow countrymen. While in Georgia, he participated in protest rallies and received threats from the Belarusian Committee for State Security (KGB). The man was detained when he submitted an application to renew his temporary identity card at the migration department in the village of Markopi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Georgia, a visa-free country for Belarusians, is home to about 12,000 citizens of Belarus, many of whom fled their country for fear of politically motivated persecution after the 2020 presidential election, but their number keeps shrinking. 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

\n\n
\n \"\"