14:00, 4 September 2026

Denis Kulanin was allowed to leave Georgia for a third country.

The pardoned participant of the protests in Tbilisi, Russian Denis Kulanin, has been given a period of 7 days to voluntarily leave the territory of Georgia.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot", Denis Kulanin, placed in a migration center in Tbilisi after his pardon, conducted a dry hunger strike due to fears of deportation to Russia.

30-year-old Russian citizen Denis Kulanin was detained on March 28, 2025, on Rustaveli Avenue in Tbilisi and taken into custody on charges of damaging a police car during a protest. In court, he apologized for his actions and pleaded guilty. In early June, the court sentenced him to two years in prison. Denis Kulanin's name has been included in the list of political prisoners in Georgia. At the end of February 2026, he declared a hunger strike due to being placed in a punishment cell. On August 27, he was pardoned by the President of Georgia, Mikheil Kavelashvili, on the occasion of the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary - Mariamoba. On August 29, it became known that Kulanin started a dry hunger strike due to fears of being deported to Russia and the lack of information about the whereabouts of his passport. The issue of his deportation was considered on August 30, and activists purchased a ticket for Kulanin to a third country.

Denis Kulanin will not be deported to Russia, reported the human rights organization Rights Georgia. According to them, the court granted Kulanin 7 days to leave Georgia, writes Paper Kartuli.

Today, Tbilisi City Court Judge Leila Poladashvili reviewed and granted the request of the Migration Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the deportation of pardoned Denis Kulanin from the territory of Georgia without a hearing. Denis Kulanin was given a period of 7 days to voluntarily leave the territory of Georgia.

Kulanin's lawyer, Tsiala Ratiani, said that the Russian citizen is currently in the migration service.

"The order that he can voluntarily leave Georgia within seven days has not reached the migration service. So we currently do not have the opportunity to buy a ticket for this evening because he will not be released without the order. As soon as the order arrives, he will leave on the next flight," her words are quoted by "That's how"*.

Participants in the protests in Georgia have been demanding new parliamentary elections and the release of political prisoners since November 28, 2024. Law enforcement has conducted harsh dispersals of protests, using tear gas and water cannons, and detained protesters. During the protests, thousands of people have faced administrative prosecution. The "Caucasian Knot" has prepared a report "Main points on the persecution of protest participants in Georgia".

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Translated automatically via OpenAI from https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/426336