The Social Justice Center (SJC), a local organization of the legal society, presented the Tiflis City Court an Amicus Curiae letter to support Tiflis City Court Temur Katamadze (Gaffar Yilmaz), a Turkish citizen of Georgian origin on March 17th. In the short highlights of catamadzes individual circumstances, “the human rights situation in Turkey” and the “risk of torture and discrimination” with which he is excluded from Georgia.
The short emphasizes that Katamadze could be exposed to political persecution if it is sent to Turkey, where an arrest warrant was issued against him. The SJC letter calls for a thorough investigation of the arrest warrant issued against it in Turkey and asked the court to apply for additional information from the Turkish authorities in order to properly evaluate the reasons for the request and the risk of persecution, confronted by the Katamadze.
The 57-year-old catamadze, an active participant in the pro-European rallies of Georgia and long-time critic of the Georgian dream, has lived in Georgia since 2012. Although he initially remained in a work visa in the country, he was refused to expand a visa in 2020 over the years. He had hoped to solve his legal status through the dishes, with the Tiflisi City Court checked his case since 2019. On January 11, 2025, he was arrested for administrative allegations for non -procurement for a legitimate order and released after five days. However, he was arrested again on January 16, whereby the authorities cited and claimed the Georgian immigration laws and claimed that he had exceeded his visa. He was admitted to the temporary detention center of the migration department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
The watchdog also emphasizes that, despite numerous appeals, Katamadze was not informed about the progress of his case in Turkey, and added that “the migration department did not evaluate the risks of possible abuse in the event of its arrest and for any reason that it would not be at risk in the Republic of Turkey.
The Amicus Curiae emphasizes that the arrest warrant can be politically motivated, which indicates the allegations of catamadzes connections to the Gülen movement by the Turkish authorities. Although Katamadze denies the connections, the SJC emphasizes that the history of Türkiye, to pursue members of the movement and other government critics, is worrying.
The organization also refers to the Georgia's law on international protection, which provides for people who fear the refugee status for reasons of political opinion, the breed, religion, religion or belonging to a social group in their home country. The SJC asks the court to consider it, to grant him international protection.
The organization also emphasizes how important the court evaluates the connections from Katamadze to Georgia – including its ethnic, cultural and social ties – that fall under the protection of Article 8 of the European Human Rights Convention, which guarantees the right to private and family life.
Finally, the SJC calls on the Court to check that the burden of proof among the asylum seeker, although it proves his claims through the creation of documentary or others, is often unable to “have an unjustified refusal of granting international protection, serious consequences.
On March 18, during the court hearing, judge Diana Parkosadze rejected the appointment of activists and “flag carriers” for refugee status.
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