Russian court sentences Abkhaz MP Kan Kvarchia to 10.5 years in absentia

Russian court jails Abkhaz MP

Abkhaz opposition leader and MP Kan Kvarchia has been sentenced in absentia by a Russian court to 10.5 years in prison. The guilty verdict was handed down on 4 June by a court in the Russian city of Sochi on charges of armed robbery.

The Abkhaz opposition described the ruling as “politically motivated”.

The case relates to an incident on 5 November 2025, ahead of local elections in Abkhazia, when a group of opposition activists led by Kvarchia obstructed the work of three Russian political consultants who were allegedly working illegally for pro-government candidates.

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

To catch the political consultants “red-handed”, the activists went to their office and later handed them over to Abkhazia’s State Security Service for further investigation.

However, no investigation followed, and the consultants were simply sent back to Russia, where they filed a complaint with Russia’s Investigative Committee, alleging that the activists had assaulted them and threatened to kill them.

Russia’s Investigative Committee subsequently opened a criminal case against Kvarchia and seven other activists. Some time later, Abkhazia’s Prosecutor General’s Office launched a similar criminal investigation.

All defendants in the case, with the exception of Kvarchia, were placed under house arrest pending the investigation. No such measures could be taken against Kvarchia, however, as he enjoys parliamentary immunity. Prosecutors sought to strip him of that immunity, but parliament rejected the request.

Abkhazia parliament refuses to hand over opposition MP Kan Kvarchia to prosecutors

The decision was seen not only as an act of solidarity, but also as a sharp assessment of the quality of the investigative authorities’ work

The Kremlin has long held a grudge against Kvarchia and stripped him of his Russian citizenship in early 2025.

Kvarchia’s allies in Abkhazia described the Russian court’s harsh sentence as politically motivated.

“We consider the Sochi court’s ruling against MP Kvarchia to be politically motivated and unjust. In our view, it is being used ahead of parliamentary elections in Abkhazia to discredit undesirable politicians and intimidate the public. Such biased treatment of our citizens affects the mood of the entire nation,” a joint statement by Abkhaz opposition organisations said.

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