The Migration Department of Georgia’s Interior Ministry has for the second time denied political asylum to Brest-based Belarusian human rights defender Raman Kisliak. The decision was made in December last year but has only now become known, writes Radio Svaboda.
According to Kisliak, this was a repeated application for asylum based on new circumstances. Since October 1 last year, a new asylum procedure has been in force in Georgia, under which an application must first be deemed admissible. It was at this initial stage that the human rights defender was rejected. The department was required to review the case within 10 days but instead delayed the process for four months.
“It seems they simply forgot about me, and when I reminded them of myself, they issued the refusal retroactively,” he said.
The human rights defender left Belarus in July 2021, fearing repression, and has since been seeking political asylum in Georgia. In 2023, the Migration Department had already denied him asylum, but the Tbilisi City Court overturned that decision. Subsequently, the Court of Appeal reinstated the department’s decision. Kisliak then filed a complaint with the UN Human Rights Committee, which allowed him to remain in the country.
Kisliak now intends to appeal the new refusal in the Tbilisi City Court. In Georgia, he continues his human rights work, advising Belarusians who have found themselves in the country. According to human rights defenders, up to 100 asylum seekers from Belarus are currently in Georgia.
