Rights defenders: court pronounces an absurd decision to extend Oyub Titiev's arrest

The decision of the court, which extended the term of arrest of Oyub Titiev, the head of the HRC "Memorial" office in Grozny, was made in advance, believes Svetlana Gannushkina, the chair of the NGO "Civic Assistance". The court just pronounced the decision "instructed from the above," said Oleg Orlov, a member of the HRC "Memorial" Council. 

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on March 6, more than ten journalists, rights defenders, and politicians, including Russian presidential candidate Grigory Yavlinsky, came to the Staropromyslovsky District Court of Chechnya to attend the court hearing held to extend the pre-trial restriction measure to Oyub Titiev. Grigory Yavlinsky requested the court to release the rights defender under his personal guarantee. 

"The decision to arrest Oyub Titiev was made in advance. This is not the court's decision, but an administrative decision," Svetlana Gannushkina, the chair of the NGO "Civic Assistance", told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent. 

"The court just pronounced the decision instructed from the above. The request was not reasoned. The prosecutor's statement concerning the fact that Oyub Titiev can allegedly threaten other people involved in the case is completely nonsense, since the case, except for two witnesses, involves policemen with service arms," the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was told by Oleg Orlov, a member of the HRC "Memorial" Council. He called the court's decision to arrest Oyub Titiev an absurd.