LONDON — In a case stirring debate over the intersection of national security and human rights, a Georgian asylum seeker who claims he was tortured and pressured to spy on Islamic State (ISIS) operatives has won the right to remain in the UK Migrant Avoids Deportation After Claiming He Was Targeted to Spy on ISIS— for now.
The 41-year-old Muslim man, whose identity has not been disclosed for safety reasons, argued that he fled his native Georgia after security forces in the former Soviet republic attempted to coerce him into becoming an informant on Islamic extremists. According to the man, Georgian special forces twice abducted and tortured him in 2017 after he refused to collaborate.
The man claimed his refusal to cooperate led to threats and persecution, prompting him to flee to the UK in 2019. He applied for asylum, citing fears that deportation would expose him to further abuse and potential reprisal — a violation, he argued, of his rights under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
His claims were initially rejected by the UK Home Office in 2023, with officials casting doubt on the credibility of his story. A first-tier immigration tribunal later echoed those findings, describing the asylum seeker’s account as “fabricated” and pointing to a lack of evidence that such practices occur in Georgia.
However, in a dramatic reversal, the man has now won an appeal at the Upper Tribunal. Judge Daniel Sills ruled that the original tribunal had “misrepresented” the facts and “failed to appreciate” key expert testimony, particularly surrounding the political and security climate in Georgia at the time.
The expert in question drew connections between the man’s alleged persecution and the fallout from the 2017 siege in Tbilisi, in which Akhmed Chatayev — the Islamic State leader suspected of orchestrating the 2016 Istanbul airport attack — was killed. Chatayev’s presence in Georgia and subsequent death sparked a major internal security response in the country.
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The case adds fuel to an ongoing political firestorm in Britain over the use of human rights protections by migrants and foreign nationals to resist deportation. It follows a string of similar cases where foreign nationals — including convicted criminals — have successfully challenged their removal from the UK on ECHR grounds.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has proposed new legislation to tighten judicial interpretations of the ECHR and recalibrate what she has described as a “common sense” balance between individual rights and national security. The reforms are expected to include a tougher public interest test and new restrictions on judges’ ability to block deportations.
While the Georgian asylum seeker’s case is set to be reheard, it represents a broader challenge for the UK’s immigration system — balancing compassion and legal obligation with concerns over credibility and national security.
“This is about more than one case,” said a Home Office spokesperson. “We must ensure the asylum system protects the genuinely vulnerable, while not becoming a back door for unfounded claims.”
The man’s future in Britain now hinges on a fresh tribunal hearing, where the evidence will be reconsidered in full. Until then, his fate — and that of similar claimants — remains suspended in legal limbo.
