Analysts question the effectiveness of the commission investigating Russian sanctions in Abkhazia

THIS MATERIAL (INFORMATION) WAS PRODUCED AND DISTRIBUTED BY FOREIGN AGENT OOO "MEMO", OR CONCERNING THE ACTIVITIES OF FOREIGN AGENT OOO "MEMO".

The commission for the investigation of Russian sanctions, created under the parliament of Abkhazia, will rather deal with the activities of former president Aslan Bzhania, but one can hardly expect serious results. Its creation is a PR move by the opposition, an attempt to remind people of itself ahead of the local elections.

As "Kavkazsky Uzel" wrote, on July 30 it became known that a commission to investigate Russian sanctions against a number of deputies and journalists was created in the Abkhaz parliament.

The creation of a commission in the Abkhaz parliament to investigate Russian sanctions against a number of individuals was commented on by Said Gezerdava, a lawyer for the NGO Center for Humanitarian Programs, and an expert who has been studying Abkhazia for many years, who gave his comment on condition of anonymity, to a correspondent of the Caucasian Knot.

The priority goal of the commission will be to investigate the activities of the country's former president Aslan Bzhania and his entourage, Said Gezerdava believes.

“Considering that the resolution parliament arose in connection with the appeal of the public in the interests of people who fell under these sanctions, then in the investigation of the reasons for the introduction of sanctions, I think the main topic is, first of all, the involvement of the former leadership of the country in the person of Bzhania," he noted.

"I think that in connection with the events that began on November 15 last year, some documents confirming the involvement of the Abkhaz authorities in initiating the sanctions were made public. Perhaps the work of the commission will be focused on studying these documents and confirming their authenticity," he emphasized.

An anonymous expert believes that it is possible that the commission will start investigating Bzhania's actions, but believes that this will lead to nothing. "Of course, when the administration of the President of Abkhazia was seized last year, some documents could have been found. But what can they really present to Bzhania? Compiling lists of those who should be declared foreign agents? This is unethical, but not illegal. And if they start saying something about serious violations, Comrade Bastrykin will appear with cases of violation of the rights of Russian citizens during the elections,” he said.

Gezerdava noted, speaking about the powers of the commission, that the result of its work will be a final report, “which, in theory, should identify the problem and the culprits and set the law enforcement system the task of holding them accountable.”

Speaking about the reasons for the creation of the commission, he said that this was a consequence of broad public sentiment, and not the successes of the opposition, although its representatives (Kan Kvarchia and Erik Rshtuni) are among the members of the commission. “The introduction of these sanctions has become extremely painful for our society. This cannot be covered up by the subsequent policy of “carrot”, which we are seeing now. The appeal, which became the prerequisite for the appearance of the commission, although signed by a small number of prominent people, still reflects the mood in our society. It is good that there is an understanding of the importance of the commission’s work on the part of the entire parliament. The success of the appeal will be evidenced by the results of the commission's work, which will also have to be approved by parliament," Gezerdava noted.

An anonymous expert noted that the commission does not have any special powers. "Everything will be limited to requests and routine answers," he believes.

He believes that the creation of the commission was a PR move by the opposition to remind people of itself. "The idea of creating this commission is quite stupid in itself; they do not have the authority to sort out the relationship between Russian citizens and the Russian state. But since Abkhazia is now preparing for local elections and the authorities are trying (though not very successfully) to deceive "United Abkhazia", then the opposition, which has been sitting very quietly in recent months, needs to somehow show that, guys, we are still alive," he said.

Noting that among the members of the commission there are not two, but even three oppositionists (Kvarchia, Rshtuni and Daud Khutaba), the expert does not believe that its creation indicates the success of the opposition. "There are 5-7 real oppositionists in parliament. And besides that, there is a large "swamp" that votes depending on circumstances, business connections, and so on. Therefore, some deputies voted for the commission purely "brotherly" to help a colleague," he emphasized.

Both experts unanimously claim that there is no information about appeals to the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia regarding the foreign agency and deprivation of citizenship of Abkhazian citizens, which the head of the administration, President of Abkhazia Beslan Eshba, promised to send, and responses to them. Gezerdava noted that official sources have not publicly reported such information. The anonymous expert also noted that there were no official responses “and none are expected,” “But from the point of view of Russian legislation, the deprivation of citizenship of Kvarchia and Mikaa was entirely legitimate, since they previously opposed Russian interests in Abkhazia and continue to do so now,” he concluded.

* are included in the register of foreign agents by the Ministry of Justice.

** the activities of the Meta company (which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp) are prohibited in Russia.