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Please support the petition for our Bayreuth student Ilia Shkolnyi. 

Ilia Shkolnyi is a Russian opposition activist facing deportation to Russia. He fled Russia in 2022 after the invasion of Ukraine. Because of his engagement for the Russian opposition and the Alexei Navalny movement, he would likely face politically motivated persecution if returned. Ilia is married to a German woman and is about to finish his MA at the University of Bayreuth. He speaks seven languages fluently and is both a highly skilled professional and a strong example of rapid, successful integration. Deporting him would put his safety at risk and effectively hand a victory to an unjust regime. Promises to protect Russian war resisters would be betrayed.

On 31 March 2026 Ilia was temporarily released from deportation detention, but his case is still unresolved and efforts to secure him permanent residency in Germany are ongoing.

The case has been covered by several media outlets, including DER SPIEGEL, FAZ, and Nordbayerischer Kurier.