Martin Kochesoko’s lawyer: There are contradictions in witness testimonies

•1 min read

▲Martin Kochesoko against the background of the poster of the Khabze movement. Photo via Novaya Gazeta.

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 Kabardino-Balkaria. Kochesoko, a Circassian activist and the leader of Circassian group Khabze, is accused of drug possession.

Kochesoko was arrested in Kabardino-Balkaria in June 2019. Police said a bag of drugs was found in his car. The day after his arrest, a search was carried out in the Khabze office and documents and computer equipment were seized.

The activist’s lawyer, Lyudmila Kochesokova, told OC Media that one of the two witnesses was an employee of the Special Rapid Response Unit (SOBR) of Kabardino-Balkaria’s Ministry of Internal Affairs who participated in the operation to detain Kochesoko. He was questioned alongside a second witness at the court session on Wednesday.

[Read more details of the Kochesoko case on OC Media: Circassian activist Martin Kochesoko charged again]

According to Kochesokova, the SOBR officer told the court that ‘an expert took the package out of Kochesoko’s pocket’, while during the preliminary investigation, this witness said that Kochesoko ‘himself took a bag of marijuana out of his pants pocket’.

She said that the SOBR officer could not answer many of the questions asked of him, since, according to him, ‘he no longer remembers the details of the detention’. Kochesokova said that, according to the witness, he was not directly involved in the detention of Kochesoko.

Lyudmila Kochesokova told OC Media that the second witness repeated testimony he had given during the preliminary investigation.

Nevertheless, according to her, the defence doubts the independence of the second witness, as they have information that both he and the first witness are ‘regular witnesses’ of the security forces.

According to Kochesokova, at the next meeting, scheduled for 6 November, the court plans to continue questioning more witnesses.

OC Media •

2456 articles•0 Followers

Open Caucasus Media brings you news, commentary, multimedia, and podcasts from the North and South Caucasus.

Ramzan Kadyrov with his family at the polling station. Screengrab from Telegram.

Chechnya

Little change after regional elections across North Caucasus

Luiza Mchedlishvili

••2 min read

The United Russia party of President Vladimir Putin has won parliamentary majorities in two North Caucasus republics following elections which saw all current regional MPs keep their seats. Voting began on 6 September for local elections throughout Russia, including in several parts of the North Caucasus. These included the election of MPs to the parliaments of Kabarda-Balkaria and Karachay-Cherkessia. Separately, the heads of Kabarda-Balkaria and Ingushetia were elected by the local

Russian President Vladimir Putin visiting the No. 1 School in Beslan, North Ossetia. Image via social media.

Beslan School Siege

Putin visits the North Caucasus

Luiza Mchedlishvili

••2 min read

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday visited Kabarda–Balkaria, North Ossetia, and Chechnya, reportedly for the first time in over a decade. Putin visited Beslan in the run-up to the 20th anniversary of the Beslan School Siege on 1 September, and the Russian University of Special Forces in Grozny. The Russian president had last visited North Ossetia in 2008, four years after the siege of the No. 1 School in Beslan by a group of armed North Caucasian militants led by Chechen guerrilla

Kabarda–Balkaria

Russian police question parents of second Circassian activist in a month

Luiza Mchedlishvili

••1 min read

Russian police have questioned the parents of an exiled Circassian activist from Kabarda–Balkaria. On 6 August, RFE/RL reported that police visited the home of Circassian activist Martin Kochesoko’s parents. Kochesoko is the head of the Circassian organisation Khabze, and is currently based in Turkey. ‘According to them, they came formally to look around and ask questions, that they are obliged to do this, that this is an order from above’, Kochesoko told OC Media. While Kochesoko st

Secondary school No. 33 in Nalchik. Image: Gazeta-nalchik

Kabarda–Balkaria

Recrimination after parents refuse to stand for Russian anthem in Kabarda–Balkaria

Luiza Mchedlishvili

••1 min read

A member of the Russian State Duma has demanded that several people who did not stand for the national anthem in Kabarda–Balkaria be punished. On Friday, Andrei Kartapalov, who chairs the Duma Defence Committee, published footage purportedly at a graduation ceremony in the Russian republic. It showed several attendees, including children, remaining seated during the Russian national anthem. Kartapalov later cited media as saying that some of them ‘covered their ears with their hands’ as t