23:12, 6 July 2018

Defenders challenge refusal to consider Oyub Titiev's case outside Chechnya

Advocate Pyotr Zaikin. Photo: press service of HRC 'Memorial'

Today, defenders of Oyub Titiev, the head of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial" in Grozny, have filed a complaint against the decision pronounced by the Supreme Court (SC) of Chechnya, which refused to transfer the trial to another region.

Since January 11, 2018, Oyub Titiev is under arrest on charges of possessing marijuana. The rights defender asserts that the drugs were planted on him by a law enforcer.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on July 5, the Supreme Court of Chechnya dismissed the motion filed by the Oyub Titiev's defender, who requested to change the territorial jurisdiction of the client's case. The Court also prolonged the arrest to the rights defender until July 25.

On July 6, Pyotr Zaikin, an advocate of Oyub Titiev, filed an appeal against the decision pronounced by the judge from the Supreme Court of Chechnya, reports the HRC "Memorial" on its website.

The Oyub Titiev's defence has filed an appeal against the decision pronounced by the Supreme Court of Chechnya to refuse to transfer the trial to another region and addressed the Supreme Court of Russia, another advocate Ilya Novikov has reported today on the air of the "Ekho Moskvy".

"We have filed an appeal against the decision pronounced by the Supreme Court of the Chechen Republic, which refused to grant our request and transfer the trial to another region. Furthermore, in Moscow, I have filed a separate motion to the Supreme Court on the same subject to clarify the certainty with Article 35 of the Criminal Procedure Code (change in the territorial jurisdiction of a criminal case, note of the 'Caucasian Knot')," said the advocate.

According to the advocate, the article regulates the transfer of a criminal case from one subject of the Russian Federation to another. "In accordance with the language of the Criminal Procedure Code, that should be considered by a higher court of the regional level, that is, in this case, by the Supreme Court of Chechnya. However, in April, the Supreme Court of Russia stated it should consider that by itself," advocate Ilya Novikov noted.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on July 6, 2018 at 04:48 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.