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Belarusian receives temporary ID in Armenia following deportation from Georgia
Michiejeŭ in Armenia
November 12, Pozirk. Belarusian community activist Leŭ Michiejeŭ, who was arrested in Georgia on September 25 and expelled to Armenia, has received a temporary ID after submitting a political asylum application in Armenia.
“This is the second step since I submitted my application,” Michiejeŭ told Pozirk. “There was a minor technical issue: they printed the card, but it contained an error, so they had to reissue it.” The ID is valid for three months and can be extended for another three months, he said.
The activist remains hopeful of a positive outcome, with a decision on his case expected within three months.
The next step will be an interview, which the Armenian authorities will arrange once they find a certified interpreter, Michiejeŭ said, adding that he had provided the Armenian authorities with evidence of political persecution in Belarus.
Leŭ Michiejeŭ 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.
Michiejeŭ 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.
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.
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.
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Belarusian set to apply for political asylum in Armenia following deportation from Georgia
September 30, Pozirk. Belarusian community activist Leŭ Michiejeŭ, who was arrested in Georgia on September 25 and expelled to Armenia, has announced plans to apply for political asylum in that country. Michiejeŭ has managed to find fairly inexpensive accommodation, as …
