Advocate Petr Zaikin (left) and Oyub Titiev in the court, March 19, 2018. Photo: press service of Human Rights Centre 'Memorial'

19 March 2018, 19:43

Rights defenders treat extension of Titiev's arrest as unjustified

The Prosecutor's Office has failed to prove the need to further keep Oyub Titiev, the head of the Grozny representative office of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial", in custody; however, the court's judgement to reject his release was predictable, the human rights activists present at the today's court session have stated.

Oyub Titiev, the head of the Grozny office of the HRC "Memorial", is under arrest since January 11 on charges of possessing marijuana. He stated that the drug was planted on him by a law enforcer, but investigators refused to initiate a criminal case on his application. The Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial" recognized Titiev to be a political prisoner.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that today the Supreme Court of Chechnya has denied the complaint against the extension of Oyub Titiev's arrest.

Svetlana Gannushkina, the head of the human rights organization named "Civil Assistance", who was present at the court session, has stated that the Prosecutor's Office failed to present any convincing arguments in favour of the extension of Titiev's arrest.

"The prosecutor said that 'he still believes that, based on the materials of the case and his evaluation of Titiev's personality, his freedom restraint measure should remain unchanged.' And that's all he can say, without giving any reasons and without refuting advocates' arguments. However, Oyub Titiev's personality is positive, which was established even by the court," Ms Gannushkina has stated.

The court session has passed calmly, but the judgement was expected, said Rachel Denber, the deputy director of the Human Rights Watch (HRW) for Europe and Central Asia, who also was present there.

"The prosecutor failed to explain why Titiev should be kept behind bars, but there was no doubt that he wouldn't be released. The atmosphere in the courtroom was calm but dramatic, as the human fate was decided there. Each wrong judgement is a great trauma and tragedy for Titiev," Ms Denber told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

According to her version, it is obvious that the charge brought against Titiev is politically motivated.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.

Author: Gor Aleksanyan Source: CK correspondent

Комментирование через Кавказский узел
All news
НАСТОЯЩИЙ МАТЕРИАЛ (ИНФОРМАЦИЯ) ПРОИЗВЕДЕН И РАСПРОСТРАНЕН ИНОСТРАННЫМ АГЕНТОМ ООО “МЕМО”, ЛИБО КАСАЕТСЯ ДЕЯТЕЛЬНОСТИ ИНОСТРАННОГО АГЕНТА ООО “МЕМО”.

February 21, 2025 22:22

February 21, 2025 21:10

February 20, 2025 23:59

  • In Chechnya, sending to war is method to punish drivers

    Chechen law enforcers are monitoring social networks and reveal violators of traffic rules, who may face both public reprimand and sending to the special military operation (SMO) zone. The effect of talks with law enforcers is caused by fear of the consequences, human rights defenders have noted.

February 20, 2025 23:55

  • Zarema Musaeva's arrest extended

    A court in Grozny has extended Zarema Musaeva's arrest until March 26 under a criminal case on disrupting the work of a penal colony. Meanwhile, her sentence under the first criminal case was due to terminate on March 23, the "Team against Torture" (TaT)* has informed.

February 20, 2025 23:15

News archive
Пн
Вт
Ср
Чт
Пт
Сб
Вс
27
28
29
30
31
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
1
2