24 September 2019, 08:42
Kochesoko demands to punish law enforcers who detained him
Martin Kochesoko, the head of the Circassian public organization "Khabze", has demanded to criminally prosecute the law enforcers who detained him on charges of drug dealing. The activist claims that the drugs were planted on him, while his defence insists on the political background of his case.
The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on August 23, the Supreme Court (SC) of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic (KBR) cancelled the house arrest of Martin Kochesoko and released him under recognizance not to leave the place.
Martin Kochesoko was detained on June 7 in Nalchik. The Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) has announced that he had pleaded guilty to possession of marijuana. The activist himself said that drug was planted on him by law enforcers, who forced him to self-incriminate.
The complaint, sent by Mr Kochesoko to the Investigating Department (ID) for the KBR of the Investigating Committee of the Russian Federation (ICRF), asserts that the drugs found on him had been planted by law enforcers. The activist has demanded to find out where the law enforcers had taken marijuana from.
He also reminded the investigators that on July 4, 2019, he complained about law enforcers' actions and managed to initiate a check in one of the ICRF's regional departments. In his opinion, the check was just formal. Therefore, he asked to transfer the materials of the check to the KBR's ID of the ICRF, as well as to institute a criminal case against those who detained him.
Andrei Andreev, an advocate, is convinced that his client has been prosecuted because he became unwanted by the authorities. "He is known in the KBR as a person with an active civil position, the leader of the NGO "Khabze", who is not afraid to criticize the authorities and to seek for the rule of law.
This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on September 23, 2019 at 10:25 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.
