US Mission to OSCE calls for release of Oyub Titiev

The US mission to the OSCE has called for the release of rights defender Oyub Titiev and expressed its concern over his continued persecution, the Voice of America Russian Service reports.

Oyub Titiev, the head of the Grozny office of the HRC "Memorial", is under arrest since January 11 on charges of possessing marijuana. He stated that the drug was planted on him by a law enforcer, but investigators refused to initiate a criminal case on his application. The Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial" recognized Titiev to be a political prisoner.

The US mission to the OSCE is concerned over the information about the disappearance of video materials, possibly justifying Oyub Titiev, stated US representative Harry Kamian at a meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna. "The authorities' refusal to transfer the case to the federal level <...> is deeply disappointing," the edition quotes Harry Kamian as stating.

"It is clear that Mr. Titiev is being prosecuted in order to intimidate and silence human rights defenders, including the Human Rights Centre (HRC) 'Memorial' in Chechnya and Northern Caucasus," announces Harry Kamian in his statement published on the website of the US mission to the OSCE on March 15.

The American side believes that the Oyub Titiev's case is emblematic of the further deterioration of the "abysmal human rights situation in Chechnya." The United States continue to urge the Russian Federation authorities to conduct an investigation into an attack of the HRC "Memorial" office in Ingushetia, as well as the burning of a vehicle belonging to the "Memorial" office in Dagestan, accompanied by threats against the HRC's employees.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.