Sochi activist Dmitry Tropsky is under threat of deportation from the USA.

Activist from Sochi Dmitry Tropsky has lost protection in the USA, and in the coming days, immigration police may initiate the process of his forced deportation to his homeland. An American court deemed the activist's risks "speculative," although the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) previously recognized that Tropsky faced political persecution.

49-year-old Sochi resident Dmitry Tropsky, a participant in protest and pacifist actions, left Russia in September 2022 after the announcement of mobilization. He spent about a year in Armenia, and in September 2023 crossed the border between the USA and Mexico, using the official CBP-One application.

The main reason for denying Tropsky protection was his brief returns to Sochi in 2023 to visit his dying mother. An American judge interpreted this as "lack of an objective fear of the authorities of the Russian Federation." The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in the USA refused to review Tropsky's case and annulled the administrative stay that previously protected the Sochi resident from expulsion. On July 16, Tropsky is required to appear for another registration with the ICE immigration police, where the process of his forced deportation back to Sochi may be initiated, reported a correspondent from "Caucasian Knot."

Human rights activists called Tropsky's case unique: American justice considers the activist's risks "speculative," although the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) previously officially recognized the fact of his political persecution in the Russian Federation. Sochi opposition members, who previously received asylum in the USA, claim there is a deadly danger in returning Tropsky to his homeland.

"The USA is overwhelmed with migrants": political emigrants on the logic of refusals

The US authorities have fundamentally changed their attitude towards asylum seekers, said Sochi journalist Nikolai Yarst, who was forced to emigrate to the USA back in 2014 due to criminal prosecution.

"Back then, more than ten years ago, the American authorities were significantly more loyal to refugees from Russia leaving the country for political reasons. However, after the start of full-scale military actions against Ukraine, the number of refugees began to be counted in millions, and the country was overwhelmed by migration flows. Very often, the USA formally issues refusals, including fearing the infiltration of Russian spies under the guise of refugees," the journalist told a correspondent from "Caucasian Knot."

Yarst expressed confidence that Dmitry Tropsky should fight for his status.

"In my experience, upon returning to the Russian Federation, he may face detention right at the border, criminal charges, prison, torture, and forced conscription to the front for his activities. I am ready to help my fellow countryman in any way I can, including interviews and bringing maximum publicity to his situation in the USA," he stated.

The creator and head of the human rights project "Ark" Anastasia Burakova commented to "Caucasian Knot" on the general trend:

"Overall, asylum in the USA is now an unpredictable process with significantly lower chances of a positive decision due to the change in the policy of the new administration. We recommend applicants whose cases are being considered by judges with very low approval rates in Republican states, and who do not have documented grounds for individual risk in their country of citizenship (criminal cases, searches, etc.), to assess the situation soberly. It is worth discussing the prospects with an American lawyer, and if there are none, to refuse consideration of asylum until the final decision in the appeal and choose self-deportation to avoid being forcibly sent back to Russia," she reported.

Dmitry Tropsky himself views the situation without illusions but does not intend to give up. "Until June 11, I had a decision from the appellate court to suspend deportation, now there is no protection. Most likely, they will start deporting me. The question is whether they will let me leave on my own or not: my passport is with ICE, so I cannot buy a ticket and fly away myself. Now the US administration is trying to deport foreigners as much as possible. There is no criminal case against me in Russia, according to available information. But if they find traces of money transfers to Ukrainian funds or donations to FBK*, that guarantees persecution. Most likely, upon arrival, I will be harshly interrogated and my electronic devices checked. I don't want to find out whether it will be okay or not," he told a correspondent from "Caucasian Knot."

Comrades confirm Tropsky's risks at home

The specifics of Sochi as the "Olympic capital" have always implied increased pressure from security forces on the opposition. Almost all key figures of Sochi's civil society, with whom Tropsky collaborated, have been forced to leave the Russian Federation and have received asylum in Western countries. Today, they unanimously speak out in his defense.

Civil activist Konstantin Gudimov, who has repeatedly faced arrests and detention in pre-trial detention centers in Russia, confirmed that Tropsky was an active participant in protests.

"Dmitry Tropsky and I conducted joint protest actions against the regime, participated in rallies and pickets. Together we laid flowers, lit candles, and installed memorial plaques on the day of Boris Nemtsov's murder at the end of the house on Voikova Street in Sochi, where the politician lived in childhood. These memorial signs were constantly and aggressively removed by the house committee of this building, acting in conjunction with the security forces," he told a correspondent from "Caucasian Knot."

Supporter of the "Yabloko" party Vyacheslav Chistoserdov, who also temporarily left the Russian Federation, recalls that Dmitry consistently participated in single pickets calling to stop military actions.

"At one of the pickets, he was detained and given five days of administrative arrest. He was a member of the electoral commission, firmly advocating for fair elections, and collaborated with Navalny's headquarters*. He is an exceptionally reliable, honest, and principled person," Chistoserdov stated.

Tropsky's connections with the structures of Alexei Navalny, recognized as extremist and terrorist in the Russian Federation, were long-term, claims former coordinator of Navalny's headquarters* in Sochi from 2018 to 2021 Konstantin Zykov.

"I am ready to officially confirm that Dmitry was a volunteer in the Sochi headquarters for almost its entire existence, from its opening until its closure. Almost every evening from November 2017 to March 2018, after his main job, he distributed leaflets in mailboxes, pasted stickers with Navalny's logo in public places, and always fulfilled assignments, regardless of their complexity and obvious danger," Zykov told a correspondent from "Caucasian Knot."

His words are confirmed by Nastya Titova, former head of the regional branch of the Progress Party, who left Russia in 2018. "I practically personally brought Dmitry to Navalny's Sochi headquarters. He actively engaged in political work, participated in absolutely all our actions, and took an active part in electoral campaigns," the activist reported.

According to Titova, activists and volunteers of the headquarters were persecuted on fabricated administrative and criminal cases.

"This practice of the security forces did not bypass Dmitry either. Trying to 'tighten' his activity, they fabricated a criminal case against him in October 2019, allegedly for being involved in fraud with a land plot in a gardening association he had owned for 10 years. Then this charge was dropped against him, but it really rattled his nerves, trying to distract him from civic activity," Titova recalls.

In November 2019, Dmitry Tropsky appealed to the editorial office of "Caucasian Knot" asking to investigate his illegal criminal prosecution. He provided the editorial office with documents proving his innocence and legal right to own and dispose of the plot.

Lawyer Alexander Popkov, now a political emigrant, confirmed that he personally helped Dmitry Tropsky draft complaints to the ECHR regarding the decision of the Sochi court, which placed the activist in a temporary detention facility for an administrative case. Tropsky's detention and his civic position were also reported by his Sochi defender Semyon Simonov.

Human rights activists prepared an argument for Tropsky's defense in court

On July 9, 2026, the human rights organization "Europos pasirinkimas" ("European Choice", Lithuania) issued an official recommendation letter regarding Tropsky's case. It follows that Dmitry Tropsky has been recognized as an official applicant in the European Court of Human Rights in the case "Palkina and Others v. Russia" (complaint No. 39711/22).

On June 13, 2024, the ECHR issued a final decision, recognizing Tropsky's arrest in Sochi for five days as a gross violation of Article 11 (freedom of assembly) and Article 6 (right to a fair trial) of the European Convention.

"In the US immigration system, this is a classic reason to file a secondary (repeated) motion to reopen the case based on newly discovered circumstances (Motion to Reopen)," believes the director of "Europos pasirinkimas" Igor Kharchenko, who personally signed the recommendation letter in support of Dmitry Tropsky on July 9.

The ECHR's decision was issued on June 13, 2024, that is, after the immigration judge in the USA made his initial refusal to Tropsky in May 2024. This evidence was physically absent at the time of the proceedings in the USA, according to the letter.

The American court considered the five days of arrest as "lawful administrative punishment" and doubted the risks due to trips to his mother, but the publication of Tropsky's name in the ECHR's decision in the summer of 2024 elevates him to the category of public enemies of the regime at the international level and nullifies the argument about the "safety" of his past trips, the letter states.

A former Russian from Ingushetia, now an honorary citizen of the USA and political scientist Malika Shakhar, shared her personal story of migration from the Russian Federation to the USA ten years ago with a correspondent from "Caucasian Knot." "I arrived in New York on a tourist visa in 2015 and applied for refugee status after my political campaign in the Russian Federation was persecuted by the administration of President V.V. Putin. I was attempted to be deported six times, being denied political asylum, but I did not give up and proved that I was indeed in danger," she stated.

Malika Shakhar, like Nikolai Yarst, expressed her readiness to help Dmitry Tropsky with advice and recommendations. "The activist's lawyers urgently need to file a Motion to Reopen with the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) based on the ECHR's decision, accompanied by a request for an immediate stay of deportation (Motion to Stay), which was not taken into account when decisions were made by US immigration courts," she told a correspondent from "Caucasian Knot."

* Navalny's headquarters, which previously operated in Russian regions, are recognized as extremist organizations and banned. ("Caucasian Knot" can provide the name of the organization upon request) (FBK) is included in the register of foreign agents, recognized as extremist and banned in Russia.

** included in the register of foreign agents.

*** the activities of the company Meta (which owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp) are banned in Russia.