Russia threatens to strip anti-war protester of citizenship
Al JazeeraThe case of Armenia-born Arshak Makichyan could set a new precedent with activists warning of a new tactic to silence dissent. That same day, Arshak Makichyan, who had earned the title of Moscow’s “lone climate protester”, married his girlfriend, Polina Oleinikova – and both were quick to join peace protests despite a widespread Russian crackdown on dissent. “Citizenship annulment cases are very common in relation to those people who received citizenship not by birth, but for other reasons,” said Olga Podoplelova, head of litigation at the NGO Russia Behind Bars. In April, lawmaker Vyacheslav Volodin called for “traitors” against Moscow’s “special operation” to be stripped of their citizenship, and lamented there was “no procedure for revoking citizenship and preventing them from entering our country”. In December last year, Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has referred to those opposed to his war as pro-Western “scum” and “traitors”, introduced amendments to the citizenship law.
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