The leader of the “Caucasian Legion” has been sentenced in absentia

A military court in Russia has sentenced in absentia to 25 years in prison the leader of the armed formation “Caucasian Legion” Lado Gamsakhurdia, who invaded the Kursk region, the Russian Prosecutor General's Office said.

“The Second Western District Military Court passed a criminal sentence in absentia on 36-year-old citizen of Georgia Lado Gamsakhurdia. He was found guilty under paragraphs “a” and “c” of Part 2 of Article 205 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (committing a terrorist act by a group of persons by prior conspiracy, which entailed the occurrence of grave consequences),” the department's website said in a statement.

The court found that Gamsakhurdia, who has been a mercenary since March 2022, in August-September 2024, violating the sovereignty of the Russian Federation, invaded the territory of Kursk region in the armed formation “Caucasian Legion” headed by him. He carried out armed attacks on populated areas, shelled Russian military and law enforcement officers, administrative buildings, residential houses and other civilian infrastructure, and intimidated civilians.

Gamsakhurdia was put on an international wanted list and a preventive measure in the form of remand in custody was chosen in absentia by the court.

“It should be noted that in December 2024, Gamsakhurdia was convicted in absentia under parts 1, 3 of Article 359 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (recruitment of mercenaries and participation of a mercenary in an armed conflict). Taking into account the previously imposed punishment, the court sentenced Gamsakhurdia in absentia to 25 years of imprisonment with serving the first five years in prison, the rest of the sentence - in a strict regime penal colony,” the release said.

Crimes committed by AFU servicemen and foreign mercenaries in Kursk region and other Russian border regions are documented and investigated by the prosecutor's office and the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation. Among those who committed such crimes there are those who have been convicted and are awaiting sentencing.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said at an enlarged meeting of the Defense Ministry board that all crimes of the Kiev regime in Russia should be documented and the perpetrators found and punished.

He also emphasized that the Kiev regime commits crimes against its people and the people of Russia every day, so the task of military justice bodies is to document all these crimes, especially against civilian civilians, and the task of special services is to find and punish the criminals.

Reprinted from https://ria.ru/