Russia places Circassian activist Martin Kochesoko on wanted list

Russia’s Interior Ministry has placed the Circassian activist Martin Kochesoko, a native of Kabarda–Balkaria and leader of the public organisation Khabze, on the wanted list.

The wanted card, which was published on Thursday, did not specify under which article Russia’s Criminal Code Kochesoko is wanted under. Kochesoko himself told OC Media that he may be wanted for failing to fulfil the duties of a ‘foreign agent’.

In August 2023, the Russian Justice Ministry included Kochesoko in its register of ‘foreign agents’. The Justice Ministry justified this decision by the fact that the activist ‘took part in the dissemination of messages and materials of foreign agents for an unlimited number of people, made calls for actions, the results of which may lead to a violation of the territorial integrity of the Russian Federation’.

The following year, in June 2024, a criminal case was initiated against Kochesoko in absentia for failure to fulfil the duties of a ‘foreign agent’. Presumably, the reason the case was opened against him was due to a lack of appropriate labels in his publications on social media. Criminal liability under this article comes after two administrative protocols are given within one year, and provides for a penalty of up to two years of imprisonment.

After the initiation of the criminal case, representatives of law enforcement agencies repeatedly visited the home of Kochesoko’s parents in Kabarda–Balkaria. According to Kochesoko, these visits were of a formal nature, as the law enforcement officers knew that he was living abroad.

‘According to the law, the law enforcement officers should have handed me personally the notification of the initiation of even an administrative case. They do not have the right to hand over the documents to someone else, if I have not issued a power of attorney. However, by mistake, they gave the document to my parents, and the next day they tried to take it away. But it concerned an administrative case, not a criminal case. I learnt about the initiation of a criminal case from the media, as well as the fact that I was put on a wanted list’, Kochesoko told OC Media.

Kochesoko is the founder and leader of the Circassian public organisation Khabze, which aims to preserve and develop the culture, language and traditions of the Circassian people.

In 2019, he was prosecuted on charges of illegal acquisition and possession of drugs. Kochesoko claimed that the drugs were planted on him, and that he confessed under pressure and threats. The court eventually sentenced him to three years’ suspended imprisonment.

Following the beginning of Russia’s full-scale military invasion of Ukraine, Kochesoko left Russia. He now lives in Germany.

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Martin Kochesoko’s lawyer claims that there are inconsistencies in the testimonies of witnesses in her client’s case. Kochesoko is an activist from the Russian republic of Kabardino-Balkaria. Kochesoko’s hearing took place on 21 October in a regular session of the Urvansky District Court in Kabard…

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