Activist Temur Katamadze Forcibly Expelled to Turkey
Temur Katamadze (Gaffar Yılmaz), a Turkish citizen of Georgian descent, was expelled to Turkey on June 11, shortly after his voluntary departure notice expired, Georgia’s Interior Ministry confirmed in the morning, after his wife posted on social media the same night that he was taken without the chance to say goodbye.
Katamadze, 56, who had lived in Georgia since 2012 and was seeking citizenship, came into the public eye during ongoing anti-government, pro-EU protests, becoming widely known as “Batumi’s flag bearer” for consistently standing with a Georgian flag at daily rallies in the coastal city. He was first arrested on January 11 for allegedly disobeying police, and again on January 16 for what officials claimed had been his illegal residence in Georgia. In detention, Katamadze spent 48 days on a hunger strike.
Deputy Georgian Dream Interior Minister Aleksandre Darakhvelidze said at a briefing that his expulsion was carried out “with force” and “in accordance with Georgian legislation,” based on the relevant court order. In April, the Tbilisi Court of Appeals denied Katamadze refugee or humanitarian status.
Describing the state system as “merciless,” Tamta Mikeladze of the Social Justice Center (SJC), which defends Katamadze’s interests, slammed officials for the rushed expulsion. She noted the group was awaiting a response from the UN Human Rights Committee, something she said officials were well aware of, which could have temporarily prevented the expulsion.
“But they did not give Temur Katamadze even one more day so we could exhaust all international mechanisms,” Mikeladze wrote on social media.
At the briefing, MIA’s Darakhvelidze noted that the defense had been denied an interim measure by the European Court of Human Rights. He did not mention the pending case at the UN Human Rights Committee.
President Salome Zurabishvili slammed the authorities for rushing the expulsion of Katamadze without notifying his defense. “Georgia has completely detached itself from the constitution and state frameworks, moving into another dimension,” Zurabishvili wrote on social media.
The Social Justice Center had long warned of the risks of Katamadze’s expulsion to Turkey, saying he could face “torture and inhuman treatment, as well as arbitrary and discriminatory persecution.”
According to his lawyer, Mariam Gabroshvili, Katamadze’s activism made him a “target of the Turkish state.” His wife said Katamadze was informed in 2023 that he would face arrest upon returning to Turkey for allegedly supporting late Fethullah Gülen, a political opponent of the Turkish government. Katamadze dismissed the accusation as fabricated.
Temur Katamadze is a descendant of the Muhajirs – ethnic Georgians expelled to Turkey during the Russian invasion of Adjara in the 1870s. He has worked since the late 1990s from Turkey and, later, Georgia to promote ethnic Georgians’ access to education and information, help them obtain citizenship, and promote cultural ties between the two countries.
Georgia is tightening its immigration laws. Georgian Dream’s one-party parliament adopted a legislative package on June 10 in the second reading that would allow authorities, among other measures, to expel foreigners charged with administrative offenses and bar their reentry into the country.
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