With the help of "Rights Georgia", Iranian citizen persecuted based on religion will be granted refugee status in Georgia

13 October, 2021

On October 8, 2021, Judge of the Administrative Chamber of the Tbilisi Court of Appeals Tamar Okropiridze upheld the decision of the Court of First Instance. The Court of Appeals annulled the decision of the Migration Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs refusing international protection to a citizen of Islamic Republic of Iran B.V.H. and ordered the Department of Migration to grant him refugee status.

B.V.H. left the country of origin (Islamic Republic of Iran) because he would be persecuted for changing his religion (Islam) and converting to Christianity. The fact of religious conversion was not considered credible by the Migration Department of the MIA. The rejection of the Migration Department of MIA was appealed in the Tbilisi City Court with the assistance of “Rights Georgia”.

By its decision of 27 February 2021, the Tbilisi City Court granted the claim of “Rights Georgia” and considered that the claimant did in fact satisfy all the criteria established by the legislation to be granted refugee status.

The abovementioned judgment was appealed by the Migration Department of MIA to the Tbilisi Court of Appeals that upheld the decision by the Court of First Instance and granted refugee status to B.V.H. It has to be noted that the decision by the Court of Appeals is final and is not subject to further appeal.

B.V.H. was represented by the “Rights Georgia’s” lawyer Rusudan Mchedlishvili both, in the Court of First Instance as well as in the Court of Appeals.

The legal assistance to B.V.H. was provided within the project “Protecting and Empowering Refugees, Asylum Seekers, Humanitarian Status Holders, and Stateless Persons in Georgia”, which has been implemented by “Rights Georgia” with the support of UNHCR since January 2019.