10:45, 21 September 2018

HRC "Memorial": closed trial is beneficial for Titiev's case falsifiers

The decision to continue the trial of Oyub Titiev behind closed doors was taken by the Shali City Court on an absurd pretext. The explanation that the closed court sessions will ensure the safety of the law enforcers, interrogated as witnesses, fails to stand up to criticism, since almost all the witnesses gave their testimonies at open sessions, the International Society "Memorial" has stated. Also, this decision reminds Kadyrov's ban on rights defenders' visits to Chechnya after Titiev's trial.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on September 20, the trial was announced closed. This was the court's reaction to Kadyrov's words; the judge did even more than Kadyrov demanded, since he did not call to make the trial closed.

Since January 11, Oyub Titiev is under arrest on charges of possessing marijuana. According to his version, the drug was planted on him.

Rights defenders have criticized the decision to close the trial. The Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial" points out that testimonies of the remaining witnesses were to prove the falsification of the whole case.

They recalled that had repeatedly demanded the transfer the trial from Chechnya to another region.

"In Kadyrov's Chechnya, there is no hope for a fair trial of a man whom Kadyrov has already labelled as a criminal and 'a nation's enemy'," the statement of the HRC "Memorial" says.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on September 21, 2018 at 02:10 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.