Lithuanian human rights activist denied entry to Georgia

A Lithuanian human rights activist and regional director of a Swedish women’s rights organization has been denied entry into Georgia, despite having lived in the country for 15 years.

Regina Jegorova-Askerova, who heads the South Caucasus and Eastern Europe office of the Swedish organization Kvinna till Kvinna (Women for Women), was turned back at the border without explanation on Thursday.

She announced the incident on Facebook, writing: “Exactly 15 years later, I was denied entry to my beloved Georgia.”

Egorova-Askerova, a former journalist, has been actively involved in women’s empowerment and peacebuilding initiatives across the region. She shared a document handed to her by Georgian border authorities, which cited “other reason” as the official basis for the refusal.

This vague justification has been used in the past to deny entry to foreign dissidents, according to human rights organizations. Critics argue that such refusals are arbitrary and unconstitutional.

Georgia’s Constitutional Court in July 2024 rejected a case brought by the Center for Social Justice, which challenged the government’s practice of denying foreigners entry without clear justification. The organization claimed that this norm had often been used to bar critical journalists, activists, researchers, and politicians from entering the country.