06:46, 5 June 2026

A Sochi court convicted Abkhaz parliament member Kan Kvarchia in absentia.

A Sochi court has convicted Abkhaz parliament member Kan Kvarchia in absentia. Photo: ABKHAZIA-CENTER / Telegram channel

A Sochi court sentenced Kan Kvarchia, a member of the Abkhaz parliament and leader of the Aidgylara opposition movement, to 10 years and 6 months in prison for the armed robbery of Russian political strategists.

As reported by Kavkazsky Uzel, in March, the panel of the Supreme Court of Abkhazia found that the actions of Kan Kvarchia during the incident at the editorial office of the Abkhaz Vestnik newspaper last November contained elements of a crime under the article on threats to kill. In mid-April, the Abkhaz parliamentary committee declined to support stripping Kvarchia of his immunity.

On November 5, 2025, on the eve of municipal elections, three Russian political strategists were detained by a group of activists led by opposition MP Kan Kvarchia at the office of the pro-presidential newspaper "Abkhazsky Vestnik," which was being published without permits. According to Abkhaz media, the political strategists were expelled from the republic. On November 24, it was reported that three suspects had been placed on the federal wanted list in a criminal case involving an armed robbery in Abkhazia (against the Russian political strategists). "The involvement of Kan Kvarchia, Eshsou Kakalia, and Khyn Dumai in the commission of this crime has been established and they are on the federal wanted list," reads a statement on the website of the Sochi Department of Internal Affairs of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Krasnodar Territory.

According to the investigation, Kan Kvarchia and a group of individuals attacked three Russians in Sukhumi on November 5, 2025, during which the victims were threatened and had their money and property stolen, Sputnik-Abkhazia reports, citing the Krasnodar Territory Prosecutor's Office.

Kvarchia was sentenced in absentia to 10 years and 6 months in a maximum-security penal colony for robbery committed on an especially large scale. .

Former Abkhazian Interior Minister Aslan Kobakhia stated that hardly anyone expected the Russian court to reach a different decision regarding MP Kanu Kvarchia, the Aiashara news agency reports.

"I have no doubt that such a hasty verdict is direct pressure on the Abkhazian justice system. What can you do? These are the rules of the game these days," Kobakhia said.

He expressed confidence that there will be no extradition of Abkhazian citizens, as the country's Constitution prohibits such actions. "Does anyone really think such an act will benefit our relations, or is this a deliberate act of intimidation?" the former minister asks.

Abkhaz war veteran Lasha Zukhba, in turn, stated that "Kanu Kvarchia's sentence is a sentence for everyone who fights for their country."

As a reminder, at the end of December 2025, a court in Sukhumi found the actions of Russian political strategist Ivan Reva before the municipal elections to be violations of electoral law and fined him under three administrative offenses.

The "Caucasian Knot" also reported that representatives of the Abkhaz opposition spoke at a rally in front of the republic's Supreme Court on February 23. Aslan Bartsits, Daur Arshba, and Kan Kvarchia stated that they are giving several days to the head of the presidential administration, Beslan Eshba, to make decisions on political issues.

Translated automatically via Google translate from https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/423833