Titiev urges Europe to impose sanctions on Chechen law enforcers

Oyub Titiev, the head of the Grozny office of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial", has expressed confidence that the verdict in his case would be accusatory. At the trial, he named some law enforcers, who fabricated his drug possession case, and asked his European colleagues to raise the issue of sanctions.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on February 21, the Shali City Court finalized the judicial investigation into the case of Oyub Titiev; on March 11, the prosecutor asked for him four years in prison and a fine for him.

After the prosecutors' speeches at the trial, the floor was given to Titiev's advocates. They treated Oyub Titiev's guilt as unproved and asked to acquit him, the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial" wrote in its Telegram channel.

In his speech, Oyub Titiev thanked all those who supported him during the trial and asked his relatives to forgive him for the suffering they had endured.

Oyub Titiev named some law enforcers who participated in fabricating his criminal case. At the end, Titiev appealed to the European diplomats and human rights defenders, present in the courtroom, asking them to "impose sanctions on those who fabricated his criminal case".

"I have no illusions about the verdict; surely, it will be an accusatory [...] If the Almighty decides that I must stay behind bars, I'll accept it," Oyub Titiev has stated.

He will be sentenced on March 18.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on March 11, 2019 at 07:53 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.