INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Canada has granted Russian anti-war activist Maria Kartasheva citizenship, reversing an initial decision to block her from taking the
Tuesday.Kartasheva, 30, moved to Ottawa in 2019
After invading Ukraine in early 2022, Russia charged her with a felony offense over two blog posts where she expressed horror about the
the citizenship ceremony in June after she notified them about the criminal case against her in Russia.Canadian immigration rules allow the
authorities to refuse citizenship to foreigners who face charges in another country under laws that could be interpreted as indictable in
which the Russian authorities have used extensively to silence anti-war dissent.Canadian Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship
Marc Miller acknowledged Tuesday that Kartasheva was unfairly punished by immigration rules designed to prevent criminals from becoming
citizens."You know, there can be situations where that rule doesn't work, this is one of them," he said in an interview with the Canadian
