Foreign nationals participating in the peaceful demonstrations are being summoned to the Migration Department without grounds

According to the information received by the Legal Aid Network hotline of the non-governmental organizations during the recent days, foreign nationals participating in the demonstrations are being summoned to the MIA Migration Department. It has been observed that the employees of the Migration Department are calling and requesting the foreign nationals arrested administratively during the ongoing protests in Tbilisi to appear at the Department immediately. The employees of the Department do not explain the legal grounds for these summons. In addition, many of these individuals have a valid legal basis to stay in Georgia.

At the same time, as reported, one of the individuals who appeared at the Migration Department was forced to leave Georgia via a third country.

The expulsion of foreign nationals for participating in peaceful demonstrations is not in line with the national legislation and international standards. We believe that the application of this measure, alongside the penalty outlined in the Administrative Offences Code, is unjustified and shall be stopped immediately.

If you are summoned to the Migration Department, you have the right to:

• Request an explanation regarding the purposes of the summon to the administrative body;
• Request them to send an official written summon;
• Contact your country’s Consulate/Embassy in Georgia;
• Contact a lawyer and receive legal assistance.

The Signatory Organizations:

• Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association
• Civil Society Foundation
• Transparency International Georgia
• Women’s Initiatives Supporting Group
• Rights Georgia
• Democracy Research Institute
• Georgian Democracy Initiative
• Union of Human Rights Defenders – Human Rights Center
• International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy
• Partnership for Human Rights
• Social Justice Center