This article is published in partnership with OC Media. You can read the original English version here.
A Russian court has sentenced Abkhazian MP Kan Kvarchiya in absentia to 10 years and six months in a maximum-security penal colony on robbery charges. The charges stem from a clash between Kvarchiya and Russian political consultants during local elections in Abkhazia in 2015.
Sochi’s Tsentralny District Court (Central District Court) sentenced Kvarchiya, one of the leaders of the Aydgylara opposition movement, on Thursday. The court session was held in his absence as he remains outside Russia’s jurisdiction; he is still on the wanted list.
The clash between Kvarchiya and three Russian political consultants took place in Sukhumi during local elections in November 2015. Investigators allege that Kvarchiya and a group of his associates attacked three consultants — Ivan Reva, Pavel Timofeev, and Dmitry Budykin — in the office of the “Abkhazsky Vestnik” (“Abkhazian Herald”) newspaper. According to the court’s version of events, Kvarchiya and his associates believed that the Russians were secretly managing online resources that published criticism of the Abkhazian opposition.
Using physical force and weapons, the attackers allegedly robbed the Russians. According to the investigation, they stole cash and valuable personal belongings totaling more than 2 million rubles ($27,000).
Following the incident, the Russians were deported from Abkhazia.
In November 2015, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia (MVD) put Kvarchiya and his accomplices, Eshsu Kakalia and Khyna Dumava, on the federal wanted list. Russian investigators stated they had evidence linking them to the attack on the political consultants. Later, the Sochi Prosecutor’s Office referred the case to court.
A parallel investigation was conducted in Abkhazia. In March, a panel of the Supreme Court of Abkhazia concluded that Kvarchiya’s actions showed signs of a crime involving death threats in connection with the events at the “Abkhazsky Vestnik” office. Following this, the Prosecutor General of Abkhazia petitioned parliament to strip Kvarchiya of his parliamentary immunity. However, lawmakers refused to authorize Kvarchiya’s criminal prosecution.
It was after this decision that the criminal prosecution in Russia proceeded. Russian authorities argued they had the right to investigate a crime committed against Russian citizens, regardless of where it took place. Moscow emphasized that the case was not an attempt to interfere in Abkhazia’s internal affairs, but rather a measure to protect Russian citizens.
Elina Sidorenko, a member of the Presidential Council for Civil Society and Human Rights (SPCh), along with lawyers Dmitry Agranovsky, Vadim Koblev, and Aleksandr Glushenkov, stated that the judicial proceedings against Kvarchiya in Russia fully comply with the principle of extraterritorial criminal jurisdiction and are aimed solely at protecting Russian citizens.
Kvarchiya and his supporters have repeatedly rejected the allegations. In Abkhazia, the case has drawn significant political attention, as Kvarchiya is one of the most prominent opposition figures.
Following the sentencing, former Abkhazian Interior Minister Aslan Kobakhia stated that he considers the Russian court’s decision to be politically motivated and linked to the ongoing investigation in Abkhazia.
“I have no doubt that such a hasty verdict is a direct attempt to pressure the Abkhazian judicial system. Unfortunately, those are the rules of the game today,” Kobakhia said.
According to court documents, in addition to the prison sentence, Kvarchiya is required to compensate the victims for material damage. The court upheld civil claims totaling approximately 1.78 million rubles ($24,000). The verdict has not yet entered into force and can be appealed.
To facilitate reading, we have chosen not to use terms such as “de facto”, “unrecognized”, or “partially recognized” when referring to institutions or political positions in Abkhazia, Nagorno-Karabakh, and South Ossetia. This does not imply that we take any position on their status.
