Social Justice Center Calls for Halt to Extraditions From Georgia to Russia
By Messenger Staff
Wednesday, October 7, 2026
The Social Justice Center has called on Georgia to suspend extraditions to Russia following the reported killing of Dmitry Pushkarev, a 43-year-old prisoner who had been extradited from Georgia to Russia, saying the practice raises serious human rights concerns.
According to Russian media reports cited by the organization, Pushkarev was killed on October 4 aboard a Vladikavkaz-Adler train traveling through Kabardino-Balkaria after allegedly killing one penitentiary employee and wounding three others. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office said on September 24 that Pushkarev and Kornei Fedunov had been transferred to Russia after being accused of creating or participating in a criminal organization and drug-related offenses. Georgia's Prosecutor's Office has not publicly commented on their extradition, according to the Social Justice Center.
The organization said Georgia had previously suspended extraditions to Russia in 2022. It cited Georgia's position in the European Court of Human Rights case Sumbaev v. Georgia, when authorities said they would not extradite prisoners to Russia until the European Court established a Council of Europe-wide approach. Georgia also told the court that no prisoners had been transferred to Russia since March 2022, following Russia's expulsion from the Council of Europe.
The Social Justice Center said that between 2017 and 2022, Russia submitted 33 extradition requests to Georgia and 29 were granted, meaning Georgia complied with about 90% of the requests.
The organization said extraditions resumed in 2026, citing several cases. According to its statement, Georgia extradited Nikita Podstavin to Russia in February, followed by Maxim Cherbakov in July and Dagestani national Rasul Kaitmazov later that month.
It also cited the case of Russian citizen Mikhail Timofeyev, whose extradition was under consideration in September. The process was suspended after the UN Human Rights Committee ordered Georgia not to extradite or deport him while it considers his case. Timofeyev was subsequently released from extradition detention on bail, while the European Court of Human Rights is also examining circumstances surrounding his detention.
The Social Justice Center said states must not carry out extraditions where there is a real risk of torture or inhuman or degrading treatment. It argued that continuing extraditions to Russia without adequate public justification, rigorous individual risk assessments and effective independent monitoring could expose Georgia to violations of its obligations under Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights and the UN Convention Against Torture.
The organization called on the Georgian government, Ministry of Justice and Prosecutor General's Office to immediately suspend extraditions to Russia until conditions in the country change substantially and there is international consensus on the issue.
It also called on the Prosecutor General's Office to publish information on Russian extradition requests received since March 16, 2022, including decisions and completed extraditions, and urged the Justice Ministry to explain the legal basis for changing the position on extraditions outlined before the European Court in Sumbaev v. Georgia. It further asked the ministry to disclose what individual guarantees and post-extradition monitoring mechanisms have been used in cases where extraditions have already taken place.
