Opposition MP in Abkhazia faces bid to strip parliamentary immunity

Move to strip Kan Kvarchia of immunity

Abkhazian opposition MP Kan Kvarchia faces an attempt to strip him of parliamentary immunity. The republic’s prosecutor general has again submitted a motion to the Supreme Court, arguing that his actions show signs of a criminal offence.

The prosecutor’s office first filed such a request in early February. After the initial hearing, however, it withdrew the motion. Prosecutors said the court had breached procedural deadlines in considering the case. They also promised to supplement the materials “to strengthen the position of the Prosecutor General’s Office” and resubmit them to the Supreme Court.

The court expressed surprise at the move. Judges stressed that they had not missed any deadlines and said they did not understand the prosecution’s reasoning.

Kan Kvarchia is one of the figures in a criminal scandal involving Russian political consultants who allegedly worked illegally for pro-government candidates during municipal elections in Abkhazia in November 2025.

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

A few days before the elections, Kvarchia led a group of opposition activists, accompanied by a journalist, to an office where the political consultants were working. After a brief confrontation, the opposition activists handed the consultants over to Abkhazia’s State Security Service (SGB), along with what they described as evidence of illegal activity.

The SGB responded by sending the consultants back to Russia. Once there, they filed a complaint with Russia’s Investigative Committee, which opened a criminal case against three Abkhaz opposition figures on charges of armed robbery against Russian citizens.

Abkhaz law enforcement authorities then opened a parallel case. As a preventive measure, they placed four opposition activists under house arrest and barred two others from leaving the republic.

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

Taking action against the seventh figure in the case — MP Kan Kvarchia — has proved more complicated, as he enjoys parliamentary immunity.

Under the law, the court must approve the Prosecutor General’s request to strip Kvarchia of his immunity, after which parliament must vote either in favour or against the decision.

Kvarchia’s lawyer, Mvrina Tania, says the “political consultants case” raises many questions and contains numerous inconsistencies, but she cannot discuss them in detail at this stage.

“I will only say that the defence does not understand how actions carried out in the presence of media representatives with video cameras, and in front of many people who were in the office at the time, can be classified as ‘threats of murder and causing grievous bodily harm’ — especially when the alleged victims were handed over to Abkhaz law enforcement together with the property seized from them,” the lawyer said.

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Move to strip Kan Kvarchia of immunity