Pardoned Russian Activist Denis Kulanin Blocked From Leaving Georgia, Faces Deportation to Russia

Denis Kulanin, a Russian national and former Navalny campaign volunteer pardoned Aug 27 alongside eight Georgian protest-related detainees, declared a dry hunger strike on Aug 29 over fears his passport was being withheld, ending it Aug 30 after his lawyer showed him the document. Supporters bought him a Sep 1 flight to Yerevan under a Tbilisi City Court order authorizing departure to a third country, but Georgia's Interior Ministry migration department blocked his exit and instead petitioned the court to expel him to Russia, where he faces prosecution over his public opposition to the invasion of Ukraine and support for Alexei Navalny. On the protest movement's 643rd consecutive day, demonstrators rallied in solidarity demanding he be allowed to leave for a safe third country. Amnesty International's Denis Krivosheev said Georgia is bound by the principle of non-refoulement and warned Kulanin faces a 'genuine risk of serious human rights violations' if returned to Russia.