Categories
Journalistic Survey
Articles
Reportage
Analitic
Photo Reportage
Exclusive
Interview
Foreign Media about Georgia
Editorial
Position
Reader's opinion
Blog
Themes
Children's Rights
Women's Rights
Justice
Refugees/IDPs
Minorities
Media
Army
Health
Corruption
Elections
Education
Penitentiary
Religion
Others

Address of Human Rights Center about the Problems of Aliens to Get Refugee/Humanitarian Statuses in Georgia

December 3, 2015
 
Human Rights Center is concerned about the problems in granting refugee or humanitarian status to aliens in Georgia.

Human Rights Center defends rights of the citizen of Azerbaijan Dashgin Agararli and citizen of the Russian Federation, ethnic Ingush Adam Esmurziev, who were groundlessly refused to get refugee/humanitarian status by the Ministry of Refugees and Accommodation. Decisions of the Ministry about the status of Dashgin Agarlarli and Adam Esmurziev do not contain any well-grounded clarifications on refusal and do not mention anything about the possible threats, for what they refused the applicants to get the status. 

Dashgin Agararli is member of the opposition political party Musavat in Azerbaijan; he was persecuted in Azerbaijan for years because of his political views and active criticism of the government. In 2013, Azerbaijani authority accused him of evasion from payment of taxes, just like many other political opponents in the country. The accusation referred to the period when Mr. Agararli did not work in any private company. In 2014 Dashgin Agararli was arrested in Georgia when he arrived here from Turkey; he had intention to seek political asylum in Georgia.

In March 2014 Dashgin Agararli applied to the Ministry of Refugees and Accommodation for refugee status for himself and his son. The Ministry was discussing his application too long, almost two years, that significantly breached the law of Georgia. Based on October 30, 2015 decision Dasgin Agararli and his son were groundlessly refused to get the status. The decision of the ministry does not contain verification part. On the one hand, the decision states that if Mr. Agararli returns to Azerbaijan he might be subjected to political persecution but on the other hand the Ministry denies him to grant refugee status in Georgia.

Adam Esmurziev is citizen of the Russian Federation and ethnic Ingush. In 1990s he participated in the Russian-Chechen war against Russia. After the war he fled from Russia and lived in different states in Europe. Adam Esmurziev converted to Christianity there and it creates another motive of his possible persecution in Ingushetia. 

Adam Esmurziev first applied for refugee status to the Ministry of Refugees of Georgia on November 14, 2011 and they refused. The applicant appealed the Ministry’s decision at the court. On November 13, 2013 the Tbilisi City Court partly satisfied Adam Esmurziev’s claim  and ordered the Ministry to issue new individual administrative law act within the estimated period of time after substantial processing and evaluation of the suitor’s application. At the Ministry Adam Esmurziev was several times interviewed in presence of the lawyer of Human Rights Center. 

Based on September 2, 2015 decision, the Ministry of Refugees concluded it was not reasonable to grant refugee or humanitarian status to Adam Esmurziev. One of the main grounds for their denial is that human rights were not breached and internal conflicts did not take place in Russia and if Adam Esmurziev returns to the Russian Federation, nobody will breach his fundamental human rights there.

Human Rights Center believes the arguments of the Ministry are not adequate to grave human rights situation in Russia that is largely described in the reports of many international organizations.

Human Rights Center calls on:

The Ministry of Refugees and Accommodation to review its practice of granting refugee/humanitarian status and shelter to aliens in Georgia and make well-argumented negative response to applications;

The Parliament and Government of Georgia to get interested in legal status of the aliens in Georgia and amend the national legislation so that facts of breached human rights and discrimination were eradicated in the country.

Human Rights Center 

News