18:08, 24 August 2018

Chechen rights defender Oyub Titiev celebrates his birthday behind bars

Activists congratulate Oyub Titiev on the occasion of his birthday. Photo courtesy of the Human Rights Centre "Memorial"

Today, Oyub Titiev, the head of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial" in Grozny, has celebrated his 61 years old. He will celebrate his birthday not with his relatives and friends, but behind bars, being taken into custody on the charge of marijuana possession.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Oyub Titiev was arrested on January 11. The rights defender stated that the drugs were planted to him by a law enforcer.

The Shali City Court of Chechnya extended Oyub Titiev's arrest until December 22.

"Relatives, friends, and simply sympathetic people from all over the world congratulate Oyub Titiev on the occasion of his birthday," reported the HRC "Memorial" in his Telegram.

International and Russian human rights organizations have repeatedly demanded to release Oyub Titiev.

So, on May 21, in Moscow, in front of the presidential administration building, members of the HRC "Memorial", the "Amnesty International" (AI), and the "Human Rights Watch" (HRC) held pickets in defence of Oyub Titiev.

On May 14, 60 people, including artists and rights defenders, addressed Russian President Vladimir Putin. They called for the transfer of the Oyub Titiev's case to a federal level court. Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov called the activists' letter the pressure on the court.

The concern over the Oyub Titiev's case was also expressed by European politicians. On July 17, the Council of Europe Commissioner called on the General Prosecutor of Russia to help release Oyub Titiev.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on August 24, 2018 at 12:21 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.