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Unsubstantiated refusal to Azerbaijani citizen to enter Georgian territory together with her underage child

February 21, 2018
 
Natia Gogolashvili

“I have not seen my wife and child for six months already; my family is falling apart. I do not know how to act – I am losing the family. I am in trouble in Georgia. My family is in Azerbaijan and I am here. They create problems for me in Georgia. Is there no justice?!” ethnic Azerbaijani Latif Kopchiev told humanrights.ge, whose wife Ainur Agayev and his son Mahmad Kopchiev are not allowed to arrive in Georgia.

Latif Kopchief was born in Georgia; he is citizen of Georgia; his wife is citizen of Azerbaijan. They got married in Georgia in 2015. They lived together in Georgia during one year.

“For the past few years we lived in Turkey and Azerbaijan; we never had problems of traveling. Our child was born in Turkey in 2017. We lived in Turkey based on tourist visa for a few months. Then I was deported from Turkey without explaining the reason. I was detained for one week; they did not explain anything. I wanted to obtain Georgian citizenship for the child and arrived at the Georgian consulate in Turkey. The issue is that Turkish hospitals do not accept children without documents. So, I had to arrive at the consulate. Several days later the police came to my home and demanded me to return to Georgia. My wife and child stayed in Turkey,” Latif Kopchiev said.

After his arrival in Georgia, his wife went to Azerbaijan. In December 2017, Ainur Agayev and their underage child were not allowed to enter Georgian territory.

In order to estimate the reason, Kopchiev applied to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia. The MIA wrote to him that his wife was denied to cross the Georgian state border in accordance to the Article 11 Paragraph I – “I” of the Law of Georgia on the Legal Status of Aliens and Stateless Persons in Georgia, which states an alien may be refused a Georgian visa or entry into Georgia in other cases provided by the legislation of Georgia. 

Lawyer of Human Rights Center Dimitri Nozadze said the MIA did not clarify what is meant under “the other cases provided by the legislation.” Human Rights Center addressed the Public Defender of Georgia and MIA; the latter shall provide us with detailed explanation of their decision,” the lawyer said. 

Latif Kopchiev said he is not allowed to travel to Azerbaijan either. “I used to travel to Azerbaijan without any problems. Recently, after I was deported from Turkey and my family was denied to enter Georgia, I tried to travel to Azerbaijan twice but they did not allow me to go there. They just verbally explained that I have “stop” but nobody clarifies what it means,” Kopchiev said.

The reason of denying his family to arrive in Georgia is as unclear for Kopchiev as the reason of not allowing him to travel to Azerbaijan. He said neither in Azerbaijan nor in Georgia he has violated the law. Neither his family committed any crimes. Consequently it is important for him to hear from the Georgian MIA what is meant under the “other cases provided by the Georgian legislation.” 

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