Arrest instead of deportation

The Georgian nationals detained in Moscow are asking that their deportation to Georgia be speeded up, the radio station “Echo Moskvy” reported, quoting the Georgian television company “Rustavy-2".  It stated that around 60 people have been held in custody for more than ten days, and among them is a child. The Georgians accuse the Russian authorities of violating their rights.

The detained people will be deported only when the Ministry for Emergencies can provide a plane to transport them. Konstantin Poltoranin, head of the press service of the Federal Migration Service told Echo Moskvy that the Georgian nationals were forced to remain in detention centres due to the lack of air transport with Georgia.  He did not explain when exactly the Georgians would fly home.

Poltoranin stated that the foreign nationals were being held in the centre solely “on the basis of court rulings and they usually try to deport within two weeks”. He said that there were “50-60 Georgians detained in the course of various police measures”. “All are waiting for a Ministry plane”, and that there were also nationals of other countries. He considers that the conditions in the temporary holding centres are “of course not resorts, but much better than  in prison”.

According to the Georgian consul, in Moscow and Moscow regions 150 Georgians are being held in holding centres, while throughout Russia around 200.

He says that those detained are “being held in bad conditions”.  “The bad conditions in the holding centres in St. Petersburg should particularly be noted, Mr Pataradze said, reminding people that it was from St. Petersburg that the Georgian national who died at a Moscow airport had been deported.  [The 58-year-old died of an asthma attack.  His relatives say that the authorities did not provide medical help. – translator]. 

The Consul said that 807 Georgian nationals had already been deported. “According to latest figures there are another 2,117 court rulings on deporting Georgian nationals.”