Hungarian journalist and activist László Róbert Mézes, who was detained by migration authorities in Tbilisi on August 5, will leave Georgia voluntarily before the court hearing, local media reported, citing his lawyer.
“László has decided to leave Georgia voluntarily. There will be no court proceedings,” Georgian lawyer Marika Arevadze wrote on Facebook on August 6, adding that he is expected to speak about the details “once possible.”
RFE/RL’s Georgian Service, citing Mézes’ lawyer Tornike Janelidze, reported that if he leaves the country voluntarily within 48 hours of his detention, migration police officers will take him to the airport and the case will not be reviewed by a court. The lawyer expects the Border Police to impose a fine on Mézes and ban him from re-entering Georgia for a certain period.
Mézes, who has lived in Georgia and actively covered anti-government protests, was detained on the evening of August 5 by officers of the Interior Ministry’s Migration Department. The ministry told Civil.ge that he remained in the country “without legal grounds” and had overstayed his permitted period of stay. Arevadze, who first reported his detention, said Mézes was staying in Georgia legally.
The journalist, who has earlier also contributed to Civil.ge, has been a fierce critic of former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and a supporter of current PM Peter Magyar.
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