\n<\/p>\n
Canada has reversed course after initially blocking a Russian anti-war activist from receiving citizenship because she had run afoul of Moscow\u2019s harsh laws criminalizing dissent over the invasion of Ukraine.<\/p>\n
Maria Kartasheva\u2019s plight had baffled immigration lawyers and exposed the confusing reality of Canada\u2019s immigration bureaucracy. Last year, the 30-year-old was charged and convicted by Russian prosecutors of violating a law barring criticism of the military. And even though her opinions mirrored Canada\u2019s foreign policy, the conviction threatened to derail her application for Canadian citizenship.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m being punished for writing what Canada believes is the truth about Russia\u2019s actions,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
On Tuesday morning, Kartasheva received a telephone call from Canada\u2019s immigration department, inviting her to attend a citizenship ceremony later that day. She told the Guardian she felt \u201canxious\u201d about the apparent breakthrough in her case.<\/p>\n
Hours later, the immigration minister, Marc Miller, posted a link to the Guardian\u2019s reporting on the case<\/a>, and said that \u201ccitizenship eligibility rules are designed to catch criminals, not to suppress or punish legitimate political dissent\u201d. He said Kartasheva would not face deportation and had been invited to become a Canadian citizen.<\/p>\n Kartasheva, founder of the Russian Canadian Democratic Alliance<\/a>, fled her homeland in 2019 amid concern over Vladimir Putin\u2019s growing crackdown on dissent. In 2022, while living in Ottawa, she learned that two of her blogposts about a massacre in the Ukrainian town of Bucha by Russian troops<\/a> had caught the attention of officials in Moscow.<\/p>\n She was charged in absentia with disseminating \u201cdeliberately false information\u201d about Russian forces. She was convicted and sentenced to eight years in jail.<\/p>\n Since Russia\u2019s invasion in 2022, Canada has been a vocal supporter of Ukraine, pledging billions in aid and hosting President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Justin Trudeau\u2019s government has been deeply critical of the Russian state, sanctioning many officials \u2013 including the judge who oversaw Kartasheva\u2019s arrest in absentia.<\/p>\n Kartasheva, who had applied for citizenship, notified Canadian officials about the conviction. Under Canadian immigration law, if an applicant is charged with a crime in another country that has an equivalent under Canada\u2019s criminal code, the application can be refused.<\/p>\n Still, she was sent an invitation to her virtual citizenship ceremony. Moments before the ceremony, largely as a formality, applicants are asked if they have been criminally charged.<\/p>\n