Reacting to reports that Russian national Denis Kulanin remains in detention after he was pardoned by the president on 28 August, and amid concerns that he could be deported to Russia, Denis Krivosheev, Amnesty International’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia Deputy Director, said:
“Denis Kulanin has publicly opposed Russia’s war against Ukraine and expressed support for Aleksei Navalny – both of which are regarded as crimes and punishable by prison in Russia. The Georgian authorities must ensure that he is not deported to Russia, where in the current climate of severe repression of anti-war dissent, he could face a real risk of arbitrary prosecution and imprisonment, torture or other ill-treatment.”
“Georgia is bound by the principle of non-refoulement, which prohibits the transfer of any person to a country where they would face a genuine risk of serious human rights violations. The Georgian authorities must also ensure that Denis Kulanin can effectively seek international protection, including to leave voluntarily for a safe third country.”
The Georgian authorities must also ensure that Denis Kulanin can effectively seek international protection, including to leave voluntarily for a safe third country
Denis Krivosheev, Amnesty International’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia Deputy Director
Background
On 1 September, Denis Kulanin was due to leave Georgia voluntarily for Armenia, after his lawyers submitted his flight ticket, passport and boarding pass to the court and the Temporary Accommodation Centre where he is held, following his pardon by the president on 28 August. He was one of nine people pardoned in connection with protest-related convictions. He had been serving a two-year prison sentence imposed on 4 June 2025 for damaging a police vehicle during a protest in Tbilisi on 28 March 2025.
Following his pardon, Tbilisi City Court placed him in the Temporary Accommodation Centre of the Migration Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs pending a further court hearing on his deportation from Georgia. This has deprived him of an opportunity to leave Georgia for Armenia voluntarily and raised concerns that the authorities are planning to hand him over to Russia instead.