Two Russians who fled from the mobilization managed to enter South Korea

According to Kommersant, citing local media data, last fall a group of five Russians fled to South Korea, trying to escape from the partial mobilization announced by the President of the Russian Federation By Vladimir Putin on September 21.

Arriving in the country, the Russians requested refugee status, but the migration authorities refused them, considering that unwillingness to join the army is not a sufficient reason to obtain such status.

Not accepting the refusal, in October 2022, the fugitives filed a lawsuit in court, challenging the decision of the migration service. Local human rights activists came out in support of Russians who did not want to participate in hostilities, who appealed to the country's authorities to let the fugitives from mobilization into South Korea. They described the Russians as "political refugees facing persecution."

All the time, while the proceedings dragged on, the fugitives were at Incheon airport. Their forced imprisonment lasted more than four months, reminiscent of the story told by director Steven Spielberg in the film "Terminal". The film tells the story of the traveler Victor Navorski (Tom Hanks), who went to New York from Eastern Europe.

While Viktor was on the plane, a coup d'etat took place in his homeland. Once at John F. Kennedy International Airport with a passport "from nowhere", he found out that he had no right to enter the The United States and is forced to huddle on benches at Exit 67 for an indefinite time until the war in his native country ends.

The film, shot by Spielberg, was based on a true story that happened to Iranian citizen Merhan Karimi Nasseri, who was "stuck" for 18 years at the French Charles De Gaulle airport in 1988 after his briefcase with all the documents was stolen. In November 2022, 76-year-old Mehran Karimi Nasseri died on the floor of Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport from a heart attack.

In the near future, the South Korean court will consider the claims of two more Russians demanding to grant them the right to enter the country.