Фото: Zura Narimanishvili, unsplash.com
A Belarusian citizen detained in Georgia on November 6 for having an expired passport has been remanded in custody for three months, human rights defender Raman Kisliak told Pozirk. The court issued the detention order on November 9.
“Unfortunately, I was unable to attend the hearing. Over the past few months, this is the fourth time I have been unable to enter and attend court hearings because I am no longer allowed in without a valid document,” Kisliak said.
According to him, Georgian human rights defenders attended the hearing. The court rejected the lawyer’s arguments and ordered the man’s detention.
“There is a five-day period during which the detention order can be appealed. After that, there will be court proceedings concerning deportation,” Kisliak said.
Kisliak noted that such hearings are conducted very quickly and that the judge rushes the participants.
“The problem was that, as a result, the representative of the Interior Ministry’s Migration Department spoke so quickly that even the Georgian human rights defenders noted that not everything could be heard. A complaint was therefore filed stating that the proceedings were not open in this respect,” he said.
The Belarusian citizen was detained in the Tbilisi metro on November 6. His Belarusian passport and temporary identity document issued in Georgia had expired. He was taken to the Migration Department.
The Belarusian citizen had previously applied for international protection in Georgia on the grounds of political persecution in Belarus but was denied.