Russian journalist and writer Victor Shenderovich, who was denied entry to Georgia, has filed a lawsuit in the Tbilisi City Court. Shenderovich shared this information on his Facebook page.
“About one and a half months ago, the Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs refused to let me into the country without any explanation, canceling two of my appearances in Tbilisi and Batumi. I decided to give the respected Georgian government a chance to correct this mistake – that’s why I filed a lawsuit.”
On June 2, 2023, Shenderovich attempted to enter Tbilisi from Tel Aviv with his Israeli passport, but he was denied entry without any explanation.
On that date, Shenderovich had a planned performance titled “The Theater of One Shenderovich” in Tbilisi, followed by participation in the concert “Messages and Dialogues” in Batumi.
According to Shenderovich’s lawyer, an administrative case against the Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs was initiated on July 17.
Shenderovich is a member of the Russian Anti-War Committee. After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, he sharply criticized the actions of the Kremlin and advocates against the war. In December 2021, the Russian Ministry of Justice included Shenderovich in the list of “foreign agents,” after which he left Russia.
Over the past year, many Kremlin critics from Russia and other countries have been denied entry to Georgia without explanation.
The most recent case involved Russian human rights activist and Putin critic Daryana Gryaznova, who was returning to Georgia from Istanbul. Gryaznova defends, including in European courts, citizens who are being persecuted in Russia.
Also, at various times, they were not allowed into Georgia: journalists from the Dozhd TV channel Alexandra Shevchenko and Mikhail Fishman, activist and human rights activist Anna Rivina, declared a “foreign agent” in her country, blogger Alexei Romanov, blogger from Kabardino-Balkaria Insu Lander, in respect of whom criminal prosecution continues in Russia, oppositionists Dmitry Gudkov and Lyubov Sobol, Ukrainian journalist Dmitry Gordon, and others.
On September 5, 2022, another Kremlin critic, Russian photojournalist Vasily Krestyaninov, was expelled from Georgia.
In addition, several representatives of Russian opposition parties who do not conduct public activities, whose names are not known to the general public, were not allowed into Georgia without explanation.
Neither law enforcement agencies nor the government of Georgia give any comment on this matter.
