An activist from Belarus was detained in Armenia after being forced to leave Georgia.

Lev Mikheev spent five years in the status of an asylum seeker in Georgia; after being denied status, he was offered to leave the country. Mikheev chose Armenia, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia reported. The departure to Armenia was forced, and after crossing the border, Mikheev was detained.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia issued an official statement regarding the high-profile expulsion of Belarusian activist Lev Mikheev from the country. The agency categorically denies accusations of violations of his rights, claiming that the procedure was carried out strictly according to the law: a translator was present at all stages, and the activist voluntarily chose to leave for Armenia, reports "News Georgia".

According to the Georgian security agency, Mikheev did indeed apply for international protection in 2021. However, the Migration Department reviewed his case and on September 27, 2024, denied him status due to lack of legal grounds. The activist attempted to appeal the decision in the Tbilisi City and Appellate Courts, but both instances upheld the denial.

"As of June 29, 2026, Lev Mikheev was no longer considered an asylum seeker in Georgia. On September 25, employees of the Migration Department identified a citizen of Belarus who was in the country without legal grounds," the Ministry of Internal Affairs stated.

According to the ministry's position, after his detention, Mikheev was placed in a Temporary Accommodation Center and offered "to take advantage of the legal opportunity to voluntarily leave Georgia in any direction safe for him."

"Lev Mikheev took advantage of the legal opportunity provided and left Georgia for a safe third country," the agency concluded, referring to Armenia.

The agency responded to Mikheev's emotional statements that he was forced to sign unclear documents in Georgian and taken to the border in a police van. They emphasized that communication with foreigners always goes through a translator. Mikheev was translated and explained the content of all documents before signing, and was also informed that he was in the country illegally. The transportation to the Armenian border, the ministry claims, was not in a police van, but in a special convoy vehicle - a "branded vehicle IVECO from 2025."

Mikheev was taken to the border with Armenia and is now already on the Armenian side, where he was also detained, the publication “Pozirk” reported.

“I tried today to carry out the standard procedure for replacing my ID card. I took care of this in advance and started the procedure almost a month ago. I arrived at the Migration Department and submitted an application. They accepted it with a photo and told me to come back in two weeks for a decision, as it was usually done,” Mikheev said.

When two weeks passed, he came back again, but the scenario was unexpected. “I was let in, seated on a chair, and nothing happened for a long time. Finally, employees appeared, saying that I needed to go with them to Tbilisi for an interview. “They immediately put me in a car. I barely managed to send a short message to [human rights defender] Roman [Kislyak] before they took my phone. From that moment on, I was practically in the position of a detainee,” he emphasized.

Mikheev was offered two options: “be expelled in handcuffs from Georgia” or voluntarily leave, choosing where to go, even to Belarus. The activist asked for a little time, at least until the expiration of his temporary ID (October 9), but the Georgian security forces refused.

“I was shuffled from office to office. A doctor came, stripped me down to my underwear - it was terrible. Then we went home, I packed some things, and we went to the department. Then I was brought here in a police van and thrown out,” the Belarusian reported.

According to Mikheev, he chose Armenia himself. There was no court for expulsion; he was “forced to sign many papers” in Georgian, the meaning of which he did not understand. “I realized that they were just crazy here. It’s hard to argue with them about anything. Let it be Armenia. And the process started rolling,” Mikheev explained.

At the Armenian border, he was detained because he is in the database of interstate wanted persons of the CIS countries at the request of Minsk. Yerevan, which has taken a course towards rapprochement with the European Union, does not extradite individuals pursued for political reasons.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot", Georgia and Armenia are not a reliable refuge for those who left for political reasons, as there is a high influence of Russian special services, Russian human rights defenders stated in March 2024. In December 2023, Dmitry Setrakov, mobilized from the Rostov region, who left part and with the help of human rights defenders went to Yerevan, was taken out by Russian security forces from Armenia.

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