Council of Europe Human Rights Commissioner Dunja Mijatović has called for “decisive steps” to be taken to ensure that the rights of Oyub Titiev, the leading member of the Chechen branch of the NGO Memorial, are respected. Titiev was arrested in January for possession of drugs (see EUROPE 11957).
Mijatović’s comments, contained in a letter to the prosecutor general of the Russian Federation sent on Wednesday 11 July and made public on Tuesday 17 July, come on the eve of the initial hearing in the trial of Titiev, on Wednesday 18 July, before a Chechen court.
In her letter, the commissioner points out that the Russian Federation’s Human Rights Council had identified shortcomings in a “fabricated” criminal case against Titiev and requested information on the follow-up given to these conclusions by the Prosecutor General’s Office.
Mijatović notes, too, that human rights commissioner of the Russian Federation and the head of the Presidential Human Rights Council had repeatedly called for the case to be transferred outside the North Caucasus. This “demonstrates doubts as to the likelihood that Mr Titiev’s rights will be safeguarded if the case remains in the Chechen Republic”, she states.
Turning her attention to Titiev’s continued detention on remand over a prolonged period, Commissioner Mijatović says she hopes that the Russian prosecutor general would agree that “deprivation of liberty may only be applied as a measure of last resort”. She goes on to say she believes that decisive steps should be taken to ensure respect for Titiev’s rights, “including by urgently releasing him from custody”. Titiev was awarded the Sakharov Prize in 2009. (Original version in French by Véronique Leblanc)