17:41, 21 May 2018

Rights defenders come to presidential administration with demand to release Titiev

Solo pickets in defence of Oyub Titiev, Moscow, May 21, 2018. Photo by Rustam Djalilov for the Caucasian Knot.

Today, in Moscow, members of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial", Amnesty International (AI) and Human Rights Watch (HRW) have come to a building of the presidential administration and held solo pickets in defence of Oyub Titiev.

Oyub Titiev, the head of the Grozny office of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial", is under arrest on charges of possessing marijuana. He insists that the drug had been planted on him by a law enforcer.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on May 14, scientists and artists, religious figures, journalists and rights defenders called on the Russian President to ensure the transfer of the Oyub Titiev's case to the federal level. Earlier, advocate Ilya Novikov has told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that no objective investigation can be carried out in Chechnya.

The rights defenders take turns in picketing. In their hands, they are holding posters with demands to release Oyub Titiev and stop illegal persecution. The inscriptions on the posters are: "Freedom to Oyub Titiev", "Stop planting drugs to dissenters", and "Catch terrorists, not rights defenders", the HRC "Memorial" reports in its Telegram channel.

Advocate Pyotr Zaikin re-challenged the refusal to institute a case on the Oyub Titiev's complaint about planted drugs. The court will consider the complaint on May 24, the HRC "Memorial" reports.

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