20:59, 24 March 2025

Circassian activist Martin Kochesoko* declared wanted

Martin Kochesoko. Photo posted on Martin Kochesoko's page on Facebook www.facebook.com/martin.kochesoko the activities of the Meta Company, owning Facebook, are banned in Russia

The personal data of Martin Kochesoko*, an activist from Kabardino-Balkaria, who lives abroad, have appeared in the database of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA). The article under which the activist has been declared wanted is not indicated, the Kabardino-Balkarian Human Rights Centre (HRC) reports.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that on June 22, 2024, it became known that the law enforcement bodies instituted a criminal case against Martin Kochesoko* on failure to fulfil the duties of a foreign agent. In December 2023 and February 2024, the activist was fined for not having a “foreign agent” notification in his publications. The activist called his criminal prosecution unfounded. In August 2024, Martin Kochesoko* reported that law enforcers had come to “inspect” his parents three times within a month and a half. The activist called such “inspections” a form of pressure.

Let us remind you that Martin Kochesoko* was detained on June 7, 2019. After his detention, the activist pleaded guilty to drug possession, but later retracted his testimony, claiming that he had been subjected to pressure. The activist insists that the drugs were planted to him.

On March 2, 2021, the Urvan District Court found Martin Kochesoko* guilty of drug trafficking and sentenced him to three years of conditional imprisonment. In July 2021, the Supreme Court (SC) of Kabardino-Balkaria upheld the sentence.

*Included by the Russian Ministry of Justice (MoJ) into the register of foreign agents.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on March 20, 2025 at 04:39 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.

Source: Caucasian Knot