08 October 2018, 23:13
Václav Havel Prize awarded to Oyub Titiev (+video)
Oyub Titiev, the head of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial" office in Grozny, who is being kept in custody, is awarded the Václav Havel International Human Rights Prize, presented today in Strasbourg.
The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that according to the HRC "Memorial", on September 6, colleagues of Oyub Titiev handed him over a letter from PACE stating that he had become one of the three nominees for Václav Havel Prize. Today, the court has held a regular hearing in the Oyub Titiev's case: the court has again banned journalists from attending the trial.
Oyub Titiev is under arrest since January 11 on charges of possessing marijuana. He insists that the drug had been planted on him by a law enforcer.
Oyub Titiev won the sixth Václav Havel International Human Rights Prize, awarded for outstanding achievements in the field of human rights. Today, the award ceremony has taken place at the Palais de l'Europe in Strasbourg. Oyub Titiev has made a widely recognized contribution to the defence of human rights in Chechnya by reporting on abuses by the local authorities. Since he is in custody, his award was presented to Alexander Cherkasov, chairman of the Human Rights Centre "Memorial" Board, reports today the PACE website.
"We are fully aware of the difficulties that Mr. Titiev and his colleagues face. This prize is recognition of the work he and HRC 'Memorial' are doing," said PACE President Liliane Maury Pasquier.
This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on October 8, 2018 at 05:03 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.
