JURIST - Paper Chase: Georgian Republic says Russia treatment of illegal immigrants 'inhuman'

[JURIST] The government of the Georgian Republic [official backgrounder] on Tuesday publicly accused Russia [JURIST news archive] of inhuman treatment and committing "gross violations" of international standards while rounding up Georgian nationals for deportation. One Georgian man died at the Moscow airport from an asthma attack after allegedly being denied medical care during five days of detention, according to the Georgian Embassy to Russia, and Russian police teamed with the Federal Migration Service to arrest around fifty Georgians living in Moscow to be deported. Rights groups said such arrests will not dissuade other Georgians from crossing the border into Russia, where they work for low wages and no benefits, yet earn more than is possible in Georgia.

Some say the current immigration crackdown is a reaction [BBC report] to the arrest of four Russian officers on espionage charges [MosNews report] in Georgia earlier in the month. President Vladimir Putin [official profile] then called for stricter immigration laws [JURIST report], and Russian immigration officials responded by proposing harsher penalties for businesses that employ illegal migrants, restrictions on border crossings, amendments to the Criminal Code, and limits on the duration of visas distributed to certain nationalities. AP has more.

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