The absence of an interpreter disrupted the hearing of Valery Klimenchenko's lawsuit against the Armenian Migration Service.

An administrative court in Yerevan postponed a hearing on Kuban blogger Valery Klimenchenko's lawsuit against the Migration Service for denying him asylum.

As reported by "Kavkazsky Uzel," Valery Klimenchenko, a blogger from the Krasnodar Krai who served time for justifying terrorism, requested political asylum in Armenia, but the Migration Service deemed his return to Russia risk-free. His defense intends to appeal this decision. Klimenchenko also demanded that the FSB lift financial restrictions.

The court hearing to appeal the asylum denial was postponed due to the lack of a Russian translator, Klimenchenko's lawyer, Samson Galstyan, told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent. According to him, the date of the next court hearing has not yet been set; when it is announced, the court will send a notice, and the court has also agreed to provide an interpreter for Klimenchenko.

He noted that "if the administrative court issues a negative decision, we will appeal the judicial decision through the appellate procedure," and that "there are preconditions that the court will make a positive decision for my client."

Galstyan added that "there is no question of my client's extradition."

The Migration Service presented its position, but its arguments are self-contradictory.

Valery Klimenchenko said that "a lawyer filed an administrative claim challenging the decision of the Migration Service of Armenia to deny my application for political asylum in Armenia."

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"The Migration Service presented its position, but its arguments are self-contradictory. For example, they say that asylum is granted to those whose cases are publicly reported, whereas my case in Russian court was covered by various media outlets, including the "Caucasian Knot," "Voice of Kuban," and others. Furthermore, they claim they are handling high-profile cases related to terrorism and extremism, whereas in 2019 I was charged under Article 205.2 of the Russian Criminal Code. "The service also believes that returning to Russia is safe for me, while we have different facts," the blogger noted.

He noted that "the first court hearing was held in Yerevan on March 17, where our position was outlined, along with a motion to appoint an interpreter for the next court hearing, the date of which has not yet been set."

Klimenchenko added that the sanctions imposed on his finances and property by the FSB and Rosfinmonitoring have not been lifted.

"These are economic sanctions related to my political position. According to Federal Law No. 115, I can own, but cannot legally dispose of, my real estate in Russia. I filed a lawsuit against the FSB and Rosfinmonitoring at my place of residence, but this lawsuit was completely ignored. I also cannot use Russian bank accounts and services. Now, in Armenia, I have an asylum seeker card in Armenia, issued "I'm legally registered with the Migration Service. It's issued every few months, without any bureaucratic red tape. I hope that when the court rules in my favor, I'll receive refugee status," Klimenchenko added.