Parents of Kharchenko* report violations in his case

There were numerous violations in the case of Vadim Kharchenko*, a convicted blogger from the city of Gelendjik, his parents have claimed in their appeal to President Putin; and a complaint was also filed against the verdict. Three more criminal cases have been opened against Kharchenko*.

On May 16, Vadim’s parents appealed to the President of Russia with a complaint about gross violations committed, in their opinion, by law enforcement bodies and the court during the consideration of their son's criminal case (a copy of the appeal is at the disposal of the "Caucasian Knot").

According to Vadim's parents, Mikhail and Natalia Kharchenko, their son and the defence have filed the appeal complaints. They have been accepted, and, as confirmed by the Gelendjik court to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent, the case is to be sent to the Krasnodar Territorial Court on May 26.

The parents assert that numerous violations were committed during the investigation and the trial. In particular, they point out that the examinations were conducted not at state institutions, which contradicts the resolutions of the Russian government. Nevertheless, the court used these conclusions as the basis for the verdict.

The parents' appeal states that a significant part of the charges against their son are based on the video materials that, according to investigators and the court, he had posted on the Internet. However, investigators failed to establish the fact of public distribution of the materials, and also ignored arguments about the impossibility of downloading such files from the YouTube without being the channel administrator.

Besides, in one of the episodes, the examination conducted in a state institution directly indicated the absence of calls for violence in the materials – a key sign of extremism. Despite this, the court found Kharchenko* guilty under this article as well.

All the prosecution witnesses are friends and colleagues of Yaroslav Krasnoschokov, the advocate, who had filed the complaint against Kharchenko*. At the same time, as the parents assert, the interrogations of the witnesses were drawn up with signs of falsification, since they were held at the same time, but in different cities. One of the witnesses stated in court that he had simply signed a ready-made protocol.

When Kharchenko* filed a complaint about the falsification of investigative materials, the court changed his freedom restriction measure to custody, although, according to his parents, prior to visiting the Investigating Committee, their son received a permit from the court to leave Gelendjik.

Vadim’s relatives have also reported the initiation of three more criminal cases under similar articles. All cases have been combined into one proceeding; Kharchenko* is being held at SIZO (pre-trial prison) No. 3 in Novorossiysk. At the same time, according to the parents, there are insufficient grounds, as provided for in Article 97 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation, for keeping their son in custody.

According to the father, who is a combat veteran and a former law enforcement officer, the actions of the investigation and the court are an insult not only to his son, but to the entire justice system. He has expressed concerns for Vadim's life and his own safety, believing that the case could have political or personal overtones.

The “Caucasian Knot” correspondent was unable to obtain any comments from investigators on the Kharchenko* case.

This was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on May 16, 2025 at 04:55 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.

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