19:49, 9 July 2018

Rights defenders detained during pickets in support of Oyub Titiev

Svetlana Gannushkina and Oleg Orlov held solo pickets at Manege Square in Moscow. July 9, 2018. Photo by the press service of the Human Rights Centre "Memorial"

In Moscow, Svetlana Gannushkina and Oleg Orlov were detained while they held solo pickets with a demand to release Oyub Titiev, the head of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial" office in Grozny.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on January 11, Chechen rights defender Oyub Titiev was arrested on the charge of marijuana possession and since then he is being kept in custody. The rights defender complained that the drugs were planted to him by a law enforcer. On July 5, the Supreme Court (SC) of Chechnya dismissed the motion filed by the Oyub Titiev's defenders, who sought to change the territorial jurisdiction of their client's case.

Today, at Manege Square in Moscow, rights defenders Svetlana Gannushkina and Oleg Orlov held pickets in support of Oyub Titiev. In their hands, they were holding the posters reading: "Freedom for Oyub Titiev!", the "Novaya Gazeta" reports.

According to the newspaper, after a short conversation they were detained by the police.

The Oyub Titiev's case was sent to the Shali City Court for consideration. The advocates believe the case should be transferred to another region for consideration, since the leaders of the republic have repeatedly claimed Oyub Titiev was guilty. According to the defenders, the judges were subjected to pressure in such a way.

Today, the preliminary court hearing is held in the Oyub Titiev's case, the HRC "Memorial" reports in its Telegram channel. The defenders have challenged the judges of the court.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on July 5, 2018 at 02:58 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.