Martin Kochesoko* was fined for failing to fulfill his duties as a foreign agent.

A court in Baksan fined Martin Kochesoko*, a Circassian activist living abroad, three thousand rubles for failing to submit reports to the Ministry of Justice.

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," on June 22, 2024, it became known that security forces had opened a criminal case for failure to fulfill the duties of a foreign agent (Article 330.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) against Martin Kochesoko*, who lives abroad. In December 2023 and February 2024, the Baksan District Court fined him for failing to display the "foreign agent" banner in his publications. The activist called the criminal prosecution unfounded. In the summer of 2024, it became known that security forces had visited his parents three times in a month and a half for "inspections." Kochesoko* called the regular visits to his family a form of pressure.

The Baksan District Court fined Martin Kochesoko* under the Russian Code of Administrative Offenses for violating the procedures for acting as a foreign agent. He was charged with failure to submit reports to the Ministry of Justice as required by the legislation on foreign agents. The administrative violation report was drawn up by the head of the Department for Non-Commercial Organizations of the Ministry of Justice's Kabardino-Balkarian Administration, Gazeta Yuga reported on its Telegram channel on October 2. Kochesoko* reposted the message about the fine on his Telegram channel but did not comment on it. According to the decision published on the Baksan District Court website, the activist was fined three thousand rubles. The September 22 decision states that it can be appealed within 10 days. By 8:40 a.m. Moscow time, the court's website did not contain any information about filing an appeal.

* listed as a foreign agent

** Meta (owner of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp) is banned in Russia.