Leave Georgia or Be Sent to Russia

In Georgia, over 400 persons have been arrested in protests in Tbilisi after the ruling party, Georgian Dream, suspended negotiations on accession to the European Union. Among the arrested were 10 foreigners, including a Belarusian man who fled to Lithuania to avoid deportation to Russia.

On November 30, 25-year-old Yevgeny Muravitsky was detained in an anti-government protest in the Georgian capital. Authorities filed a case against the Belarusian national for "insulting a special forces soldier." Muravitsky spent two days in a prison in the city of Sighnaghi. 

After Muravitsky was released, immigration authorities summoned him. On December 2, four officers went looking for him at his residence. The next day, Muravitsky applied for asylum. Belarussian human rights activist Roman Kysliak said, "The risk existed that he would be captured and taken to the border with Russia and sent there."

Despite being allowed to request international protection, the Belarussian man decided to leave Georgia for his own safety. Human rights activists from Belarus managed to get Muravitsky out of Georgia by obtaining a single-entry visa from the Lithuanian Embassy in one day.

In Georgia, more than 350 people are being held on administrative charges and 26 on criminal charges. According to human rights activists, more than 300 detainees were subjected to torture and inhumane treatment. Eighty protesters required hospitalization after being detained.