The denial of asylum has led to the resumption of criminal proceedings against Russians in Georgia.

Russians Alina Savelyeva and Vladimir Dubovsky were denied asylum in Georgia and placed in pretrial detention on charges of illegally crossing the border, which they cited as a threat of persecution in their home country. The Russians could face deportation or imprisonment.

Russian activists Vladimir Dubovsky and Alina Savelyeva remain in pretrial detention in Georgia, Stanislav Dmitrievsky, a human rights activist based in Georgia, told a Caucasian Knot correspondent. Professional lawyers are working on their case, but they are currently unavailable to comment due to their workload and a desire to protect the interests of their clients.

"The story of Savelyeva and Dmitrievsky's case is indeed that they entered Georgia several years ago illegally, outside the border crossing, because, as they claim, they were in dire straits due to the possibility of political persecution. But, as I understand it, they reported to the migration service fairly quickly and applied for political asylum. And the asylum procedure is a very lengthy one," Dmitrievsky said.

According to him, "the Georgian Dream government currently refuses to grant asylum to either Belarusians or Russians; they're issuing standard refusals to everyone." "For example, I was refused in December 2024 with the following wording: due to the absence of a state of armed conflict in the Russian Federation and the associated systemic human rights violations. I appealed this, of course, and have been waiting 10 months for the trial, which is normal. I still haven't had a court hearing scheduled, as there is a general reason - procedural deadlines are never met in administrative and civil cases in Georgia, unlike criminal ones. And these guys (Saveleva and Dmitrievsky) also had their case considered for a long time, but in the end, this year, they were finally refused. They lost in the Tbilisi City Court and in the appellate court, and the decision came into force. Therefore, they are no longer asylum seekers," he said.

According to him, a case for illegal border crossing against Savelyeva and Dubovsky was immediately opened, but was suspended due to the fact that they requested asylum, and now that they have been deprived of the chance to receive it, the case resumed.

"If they had granted asylum, the case would have been considered closed because they acted under extreme necessity. But now they've decided to show that the authorities are 'fighting illegal migration' in this way. That's why they weren't released from Georgia - the authorities needed to show that they were persecuting illegal migrants. This has become a global trend within the framework of the new right-wing populism," Dmitrievsky said.

In his opinion, they are not at risk of deportation to Russia.

"They are ready to release them to any third country, and in exchange they offered a plea bargain, but, as I understand it, they refused it. I don't know the details, and the lawyers aren't talking about it yet either. The essence of a plea bargain is to pay a fairly large fine, rather than spend time in prison (they are in prison now), and travel to any visa-free country for Russians. As a rule, they can still "impose a ban on entry for five years," Dmitrievsky explained.

Under the current circumstances, a plea bargain would be most acceptable for Savelyeva and Dubovsky, the human rights activist believes.

"It's clear that the denial of asylum is unfair. But they can continue to sue, but in any case, they will be deported or imprisoned, because the decision to deny asylum has already entered into force. In my opinion, they should agree, because it's clear that, from a formal standpoint, they have crossed the line. I would agree. But perhaps their refusal is not final," Dmitrievsky pointed out.

As "Caucasian Knot" reported, Armenia and Georgia are not a reliable refuge for those who left Russia for political reasons, as Russian intelligence agencies have a high influence there and there is a risk of extradition to their home countries, human rights activists have previously stated.

For example, Georgian police extradited to Russia Muslim Ilkin Melikov, who had sought political asylum in the country due to persecution in his home country on terrorism charges. According to him, several days after the court of first instance refused to grant him asylum, he was forcibly taken to a checkpoint and handed over to Russian border guards.