14 July 2021, 08:58
Court refuses to commute sentence to Circassian activist Martin Kochesoko
The Supreme Court (SC) of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic (KBR) has dismissed the complaint lodged by the defence of Martin Kochesoko. His advocate intends to appeal against this decision.
The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on March 2, 2021, a court found Kochesoko guilty of illegal acquisition, storage and transportation of drugs and sentenced him to three-year of conditional imprisonment with a one-year probation period. Valeriy Khatazhukov, a human rights defender, and Maxim Shevchenko, a journalist, have treated the persecution of Kochesoko as an exemplary execution. The court fulfilled a political order, and did not dare to acquit the Circassian activist, the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial"* asserts.
Martin Kochesoko, the head of the NGO "Khabze" and a co-chairman of the Democratic Congress of Russian Nations, was detained on June 7, 2019. After the detention, he confessed to drug possession, but later refused from his testimony, claiming pressure. The activist insists that drugs had been planted on him.
This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on July 13, 2021 at 06:24 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.
Author: Lyudmila Maratova Source: CK correspondent
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