In KBR, Martin Kochesoko released under recognizance not to leave

Today, the Supreme Court (SC) of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic (KBR) has cancelled the house arrest of Martin Kochesoko, the head of the Circassian public organization named "Khabze", accused of drug dealing.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Martin Kochesoko was detained on June 7, 2019, in Nalchik. On June 13, the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) announced that he had pleaded guilty to acquisition and possession of marijuana. On the following day, a law enforcement source said that Kochesoko had admitted his guilt under law enforcers' pressure.

The today's SC session was attended by several dozen Martin Kochesoko's relatives and activists who came to support him, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports.

The advocates, Timur Khutov and Lyudmila Kochesokova, demanded to cancel the decision of the Urvan District Court, which had extended, on August 5, the activist's house arrest by two months more.

The advocates have justified their demand by the fact that the investigative actions on the case were over, and the defendant would not be able to influence the outcomes thereof.

The SC agreed with the advocate's position and satisfied their motion. Mr Kochesoko's relatives and supporters welcomed the court decision with applause. The SC has ruled that until the trial the defendant should be under recognizance not to leave and will be able to move within the limits of the KBR.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on August 23, 2019 at 06:37 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.