Russian court orders in-absentia arrest of an Abkhazian MP and six other opposition figures

Russia arrests Abkhaz opposition figures

A Russian court has ordered the in-absentia arrest of Abkhazian MP Kan Kvarchia and six other opposition activists. All of them are implicated in a high-profile case linked to Russian political consultants.

Kvarchia and his associates are accused of assaulting and robbing three Russian nationals — the same political consultants at the center of the case.

Russian political strategists secretly worked for pro-presidential candidates in Abkhazia

One ran a “local” newspaper and was smearing opponents, the other secretly worked at the Election Commission. The opposition exposed them, but the “consultants” were simply expelled from Abkhazia

The scandal occurred in November 2025, ahead of the municipal elections in Abkhazia. Three Russian political consultants had been working illegally for pro-government candidates from the organization “Team Abkhazia – Team of the President.”

Three days before the vote, opposition activists suddenly raided the consultants’ office, caught them “red-handed,” and handed them over to Abkhazia’s State Security Service (SGB) for further investigation. However, the SGB chose to avoid trouble and simply expelled the Russians from the republic.

After returning home, the consultants filed complaints with Russian law-enforcement authorities, which then opened a criminal case against the Abkhaz opposition figures led by MP Kan Kvarchia.

Shortly afterward, criminal cases were also opened in Abkhazia — both against the opposition activists and against the political consultants.

All seven opposition figures who were arrested in absentia by a Russian court are currently in Abkhazia.

On February 12, a day after the court decision became public, three opposition figures — Garry Kokaya, Almaskhan Ardzinba, and Khyna Dumava — voluntarily appeared at the Sukhum prosecutor’s office and were placed under house arrest for two months the same day. Earlier, two other suspects, Eshsou Kakalia and Aslan Kmuzov, were released after questioning under travel restrictions.

The opposition figures say the criminal case against them is fabricated and politically motivated.

Russian agents in Abkhazia | Discussion of Inal Khashig and Astamur Tania

Russian foreign agents in Abkhazia – Editor of the newspaper Chegemskaya Pravda Inal Khashig spoke with historian and political scientist Astamur Tania.

In this context, the Telegram channel “Abkhazia-Center” is highly skeptical of Moscow’s policy toward Abkhazia:

“How do Russia’s actions in Abkhazia differ from its policy in other former USSR republics? There is no individual approach. Everywhere the emphasis is on unpopular leaders, political parties with low ratings, preferably tainted by corruption. Everyone else is labeled Russophobic, agents of foreign funds, or foreign intelligence. And if people protest too strongly, it escalates: criminal cases, sanctions…”, the channel writes.

Abkhazia-Center predicts that “if such blunt methods become standard practice, Moscow will simply have no one to talk to in Sukhum.”

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