27/06/2018 (Agence Europe) – On Tuesday 26 June, the spokesperson for the European External Action Service (EEAS) stated that the EU expected the Russian authorities to respect the international commitments of their country regarding the obligation to protect human rights defenders. The proceedings against the director of the Memorial human rights centre in Chechnya, Oyub Titiev, and the representative of Memorial in Karelia, Yuri Dmitriev, must be dropped, the EEAS spokesperson stated, saying that the two men are considered to be the subject of dubious accusations. The spokesperson also called for the release of Titiev, who has been in detention since 9 January. On 25 June, a Chechen lawcourt confirmed that Titiev was being detained on "dubious" accusations of possessing drugs, while Dmitriev saw his acquittal overturned on 14 June. The accusations against him include paedo-pornograhpic production. (CG)