Chechen journalist tortured in Russia denied entry to Georgia

Zhalavdi Geriyev, a Chechen journalist who spent three years in prison in Russia after being tortured, has been denied entry to Georgia with no explanation, reported OC media, where Geriyev worked as a stringer.

Geriyev arrived at Tbilisi Airport from Budapest on Saturday but was told he was not welcome in the country. He said that after a border guard saw in his passport that he was born in Chechnya, his documents were taken away to be inspected. ‘Everything was like in an ordinary Russian airport’- Geriyev told OC Media. He accused the Georgian authorities of being ‘unprofessional’ and discriminatory towards people from the North Caucasus.

Geriyev said he had expected he might be denied entry before traveling to the country. ‘The denial was likely as I know several colleagues who were also denied entry last year.’

The director of Media Ombudsman, a Georgian media advocacy group, Natia Kapanadze, condemned the authorities’ actions. Kapanadze told OC Media that the government only treated journalists critical of the Russian authorities or those from Ukraine in this way. ‘This trend began when Ukrainian journalists were not allowed into Georgia in 2021; they wanted to meet and interview the third president [Mikheil Saakashvili] – for this reason, they were detained, and after that, a lot of journalists who criticised Russia’, she said.

Geriyev said he planned to appeal the decision along with the local rights group, Rights Georgia. However, Kapanadze said the chances of success were slim based on previous cases she had worked on, and that it was a ‘long and complicated process’.

The incident is one in a series of repeated denials of entry to Georgia to Russian citizens known for their criticism of the Russian authorities and opposition to the Russian regime.

According to OC Media, the Georgian Interior Ministry declined to comment on Geriyev’s case, saying only that it was down to the individual border guards to explain the reasons behind the decision and adding that ‘everyone has the opportunity to appeal’.

Geriyev was previously denied entry and deported to Russia along with human rights activist Bekkhan Gelgoyev in 2014. However, he has since visited the country numerous times. He was abducted by security forces in Chechnya in April 2016 while working for Caucasian Knot. He was brought to a forest with a bag over his head and subjected to mock execution as his captors interrogated him about his work. Drugs were later planted in his backpack and he was forced to sign a confession. He was convicted of cannabis possession later that year and released in 2019, after serving three years in the Chernokozovo penal colony.

Also Read:

• 08/09/2022 –  Another Russian Journalist Denied Entry to Georgia
• 19/07/2022 – Another Russian Blogger Says Denied Entry to Georgia

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