As a result of joint operations conducted by the Migration Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Border Police, 14 foreign nationals were detained in Georgia, the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) reported.

According to the MIA, the detainees are citizens of Bangladesh, Turkey, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, and Morocco. Authorities established that they were staying in the country without legal grounds under the Law of Georgia “On the Legal Status of Foreigners and Stateless Persons.”

The Ministry stated that the individuals abused the timeframes provided under the asylum procedure and remained in the country for several years without legal status. They also failed to comply with expulsion decisions that required voluntary departure.

As a result, the Migration Department decided to detain the individuals. They are currently being held at the Migration Department’s temporary accommodation center in order to enforce the expulsion decisions and facilitate their return to their countries of origin.