The father and brother of environmental activist Arshak Makichyan were banned from entering Russia for 50 years. The family has lived in Moscow since 1995

The father and brother of environmental activist Arshak Makichyan were banned from entering Russia for 50 years. This is reported by the "First Department".

The decision was made “for reasons of ensuring defense capability and state security,” the FSB said.

“The ban on entering Russia for such a long period is not justified by anything. The FSB made the decision arbitrarily and in violation of Russia's international obligations in this area," lawyer Maksim Olenichev, who collaborates with the First Department, commented on the decision.

Arshak's father, Artur, will turn 62 in April, and his brother Gagik will turn 25.

“This is a lifetime ban even for my 25-year-old brother, who was born in Moscow, graduated from the Moscow Conservatory and is married to a citizen of the Russian Federation,” wrote Arshak Makichyan.

In February, the Interior Ministry ordered the eco-activist's family to leave Russia within three days. According to Olga Podoplelova, a lawyer for the First Division, the court deprived Makichyan, his father, and two brothers of their citizenship because of allegedly knowingly false information filed in 2002.

For 27 out of 28 years, Arshak Makichyan, an activist in the Fridays for Future movement founded by Swedish eco-activist Greta Thunberg, has lived in Moscow. He connects the deprivation of citizenship with his activities - he regularly held climate pickets, and also spoke out against the war. He himself left Russia at the beginning of the war.