A Russian anti-war activist is facing the prospect of deportation from Canada after her citizenship application was blocked on the grounds that her blogposts had broken Moscow’s harsh laws criminalizing criticism of the invasion of Ukraine.
The decision, first reported by the CBC, which has baffled immigration lawyers, faults Maria Kartasheva over criminal charges leveled by Russian prosecutors, even though her dissent mirrors Canada’s foreign policy.
Kartasheva, founder of the Russian Canadian democratic alliance, fled her homeland in 2019 amid concern over Vladimir Putin’s growing crackdown on dissent .
Justin Trudeau’s government has been deeply critical of the Russian state, sanctioning many officials – including the judge who oversaw Kartasheva’s arrest in absentia.
In December, Canadian officials told her in a letter that her conviction in Russia aligns with a criminal code offence relating to spreading false information.
Another expert, the University of Toronto law professor Audrey Macklin, said the case appeared the result of an “over-zealous” citizenship officer and questioned the decision to pull her during the ceremony.
The original article contains 830 words, the summary contains 169 words. Saved 80%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
Why would Canada listen to Russia in the first place? Do they have a policy where they take input from foreign governments when considering citizenship?
Not Russia specifically, but it makes sense that officers considering citizenship should be well informed of applicants’ criminal convictions in other countries.
Of course they need to exercise common sense so you don’t end up deporting refugees back to their oppressors.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
A Russian anti-war activist is facing the prospect of deportation from Canada after her citizenship application was blocked on the grounds that her blogposts had broken Moscow’s harsh laws criminalizing criticism of the invasion of Ukraine.
The decision, first reported by the CBC, which has baffled immigration lawyers, faults Maria Kartasheva over criminal charges leveled by Russian prosecutors, even though her dissent mirrors Canada’s foreign policy.
Kartasheva, founder of the Russian Canadian democratic alliance, fled her homeland in 2019 amid concern over Vladimir Putin’s growing crackdown on dissent .
Justin Trudeau’s government has been deeply critical of the Russian state, sanctioning many officials – including the judge who oversaw Kartasheva’s arrest in absentia.
In December, Canadian officials told her in a letter that her conviction in Russia aligns with a criminal code offence relating to spreading false information.
Another expert, the University of Toronto law professor Audrey Macklin, said the case appeared the result of an “over-zealous” citizenship officer and questioned the decision to pull her during the ceremony.
The original article contains 830 words, the summary contains 169 words. Saved 80%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
Why would Canada listen to Russia in the first place? Do they have a policy where they take input from foreign governments when considering citizenship?
Not Russia specifically, but it makes sense that officers considering citizenship should be well informed of applicants’ criminal convictions in other countries.
Of course they need to exercise common sense so you don’t end up deporting refugees back to their oppressors.