20 February 2021, 11:59
Martin Kochesoko's defence presents falsification proofs
The witnesses of the detention of Martin Kochesoko, a Circassian activist, were people dependent on law enforcers; and the secret witnesses failed to clarify the case circumstances at the trial, the advocate has stated during the debate in the court.
The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the prosecutor at Martin Kochesoko's trial called the activist's guilt established, and demanded to sentence him to four years of conditional imprisonment. His defence treats the case as falsified and demands from the court to acquit Kochesoko.
According to the police, Kochesoko has confessed to the acquisition and possession of narcotic drugs; he faces up to ten years in prison. The activist himself insists that the drugs were planted on him. The Kochesoko's detention has caused a wide resonance not only in Russia, but also abroad.
On February 19, during parties' debate, Lyudmila Kochesokova, Martin's advocate, pointed to numerous violations of the law in relation to her client.
She drew attention to the fact that the activist's case was handled by employees of the Centre for Combating Extremism (CCE), and not of the division for combating drug dealing. None of the witnesses could explain this, the advocate has stated. She has also recalled that the witnesses who figure in Kochesoko's case were unemployed residents of Nalchik, who has also acted as witnesses during two similar detentions, and are obviously dependent on law enforcers. Both witnesses, according to the activist, had been brought to his detention place 50 kilometres away four hours before the detention.
Some of the witnesses in Kochesoko's case were made secret, although there are no applications from them in the case files about the need to make them secret. Moreover, the witnesses were practically unable to clarify anything about the circumstances of the case.
On February 26, Martin Kochesoko will deliver his last plea. The verdict is due to be announced on March 1.
This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on February 20, 2021 at 00:58 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.
Author: Lyudmila Maratova Source: CK correspondent
