The Tbilisi City Court ruled against deporting Russian citizen Denis Kulanin, previously convicted in Georgia, to Russia. The court granted the petition of the Migration Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, but gave Kulanin seven days to voluntarily leave the country. He will be able to choose his own destination.

Kulanin was detained on March 28, 2025, on Rustaveli Avenue in Tbilisi during pro-European protests. He was accused of damaging an Interior Ministry vehicle and sentenced to two years in prison.

On August 28, 2026, Georgian President Mikheil Kavelashvili pardoned 226 prisoners, including Kulanin. However, after the pardon, he was not released; he was transferred to the Migration Service's Temporary Accommodation Center pending a decision on his continued stay in the country.
Kulanin was expected to voluntarily leave for Armenia on September 1. His lawyers submitted his plane ticket, passport, and boarding pass to the court and the Temporary Accommodation Center. However, the Department of Migration stated that leaving the country was impossible without a separate court order.

This decision has now been made. The court gave Kulanin a week to leave Georgia, but did not require him to return to Russia.

Human rights activists had previously expressed concerns that after his release, Kulanin could be handed over to Russian authorities, where they believe he could be in danger.