A Tbilisi court upheld Timofeev's denial of asylum.

The Tbilisi City Court rejected Mikhail Timofeev's claim for political asylum, ignoring a petition from the UN Special Rapporteur. The defense intends to appeal the decision to the Tbilisi Court of Appeals and also to appeal to the ECHR if the claim is further denied.

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," 60-year-old Russian citizen Mikhail Timofeev, who is implicated in the case of former Khabarovsk Krai Governor Sergei Furgal and arrested in absentia, has been detained in Georgia. Georgian authorities refused to grant him political asylum, as they do not consider his persecution to be political. Timofeev is being held in Gldani Prison. According to human rights activists, he lacks access to essential food and medication, as well as contact with his relatives. Timofeev was arrested in Georgia based on a revoked Interpol request.

The Tbilisi City Court rejected the claim for political asylum for Mikhail Timofeev, a former associate of Khabarovsk Krai Governor Sergei Furgal. He faces extradition to Russia, where he is accused of a contract killing that took place 22 years ago, the "Slovo Zashchity" project reported.

The Russian's lawyer said the court ignored the motion of the UN Special Rapporteur, who warned Georgian authorities of the political nature of the case and the high risk of torture for Timofeev in his home country.

The defense intends to appeal the decision to the Tbilisi Court of Appeals and also to appeal to the ECHR if the case is further refused, the publication stated.

Earlier, Moscow's Basmanny Court arrested Mikhail Timofeev in absentia in connection with the 2004 murder of Khabarovsk businessman Yevgeny Zori. Former Khabarovsk Krai Governor Sergei Furgal was convicted of organizing his murder, the joint press service of the Moscow courts of general jurisdiction reported on December 27, 2023. Former Governor Sergei Furgal was found guilty by a jury and received a 23-year sentence. In December 2025, he received a new conviction – this time under economic articles of the Russian Criminal Code, with a total sentence of 25 years. According to investigators, Zorya's murder was committed by members of Timofeev's gang on behalf of Sergei Furgal, Kommersant reports. Timofeev was previously Furgal's part-time assistant and, according to law enforcement, headed the Moiseevskie organized crime group, an influential group in the region (named after the Moisei sports club, which it allegedly used as a cover). The group controlled several territories in Khabarovsk, engaging in racketeering and money laundering. In 2011, Mikhail Timofeev was sentenced to eight years in prison for extortion (Article 163 of the Russian Criminal Code). After his release from prison in 2019, he left Russia, according to the publication.