In Dagestan, court upholds decision in activist Larisa Bochieva’s case

A court of appeal upheld the decision to extend the pre-trial restriction measure for Larisa Bochieva, a resident of Makhachkala, accused of creating a cell of an extremist organization. The court found the defendant’s arguments about the need to take her child with disability for medical treatment and visit his sick father in Chechnya unconvincing.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that on December 7, 2023, the Kirovsky District Court of Makhachkala extended the ban on certain actions for Larisa Bochieva (Bachieva) for three months.

The wife of a mobilized man from Makhachkala is involved as defendant in a criminal case for organizing the activities of the extremist organization “USSR”*, the “Kavkaz.Realii”** reports with reference to the decision pronounced by the Supreme Court (SC) of Dagestan.

Larisa Bochieva emphasizes that she is the mother of the child with disability who needs regular medical treatment. Her father, who lives in Chechnya, has been diagnosed with cancer, but she cannot devote time to him because she must be at home at night. The pre-trial restriction measure imposed on Larisa Bochieva also prevents her from visiting her elderly mother, who lives alone in a deserted village.

In addition, in her appeal, Larisa Bochieva declared that she “never violated restrictions and prohibitions” and that she also could not influence the course of the investigation. However, the Supreme Court considered the Kirovsky District Court’s decision to extend the ban on certain actions to be justified.

Earlier, Larisa Bochieva has claimed that she had no connections with the prohibited organization. “I simply gathered people to create the public organization ‘Executive Committee of the USSR’. But I am accused of having connections with the “Union of Rus’ Slavic Forces”*, recognized as terrorist organization in the Komi Republic in 2019,” the defendant emphasized.

*In 2019, the Supreme Court of the Komi Republic recognized the “Union of Rus’ Slavic Forces” (one of the group of movements that also includes “USSR Citizens”) as an extremist organization.

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