The Iranian citizen, represented by “Rights Georgia”, will not be expelled to Iran

11 June, 2021

A.B., the Iranian citizen, will not be expelled from Georgia, according to the Order of Judge Giorgi Gogiashvili of the Court of Appeals dated 10 June 2021.

A.B. applied for asylum in Georgia in 2017 and he mainly alleged that he would be subjected to persecution, inhuman and degrading treatment on religious grounds in Iran. 

His application for asylum was rejected on national security grounds by the Migration Department of MIA in 2018. The courts of both instances dismissed his claim against Migration Department and subsequently the expulsion proceedings were launched. 

On 18 January 2021 the court of first instance ruled that A.B. must leave Georgia within 30 calendar days and he was restricted to enter Georgia for 5 years. The Order was appealed by Rights Georgia's lawyer Nino Khetsadze.

Eventually, the Order was reversed by Judge Giorgi Gogiashvili and A.B. will not be expelled from Georgia in accordance with the non-refoulement principle. 

The legal assistance to A.B. 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.