Georgia orders deportation of Russian activist Denis Kulanin, gives him seven days to leave voluntarily

Georgia’s Tbilisi City Court has ordered the deportation of Russian citizen and activist Denis Kulanin, giving him seven days to voluntarily leave the country, the Interior Ministry said on Friday.

The Migration Department had initiated deportation proceedings against Kulanin under Georgia’s Law on the Legal Status of Aliens and Stateless Persons and petitioned the Tbilisi City Court to order his removal from the country, the MIA press office said. 

The court’s Administrative Cases Panel issued the deportation order on September 4, the ministry added.

Under the ruling, Kulanin has seven days to leave Georgia voluntarily for a destination of his choice. If he fails to leave within that period, the deportation order will be enforced involuntarily in accordance with Georgian law.

The court also imposed a five-year ban on Kulanin’s entry into Georgia, according to the Interior Ministry.

Kulanin, a Russian citizen and activist, was recently pardoned by Georgian President Mikheil Kavelashvili after serving a sentence related to a 2025 protest. Following his release, he was transferred to the Interior Ministry’s Migration Department while deportation proceedings were initiated.

Human rights groups had raised concerns over the possibility of Kulanin being returned to Russia and called for him to be allowed to travel to a safe third country. Amnesty International said Kulanin had publicly opposed Russia’s war against Ukraine and supported Alexei Navalny, warning that he could face persecution or ill-treatment if returned to Russia.