05 April 2019, 23:41
Chechen human rights defender Oyub Titiev nominated for Boris Nemtsov Prize
Oyub Titiev, the head of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial" office in Grozny, became one of 35 applicants for the Boris Nemtsov Prize for courage in defending democratic values in Russia.
The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on March 18, the court found Oyub Titiev guilty of drug possession and sentenced him to four years of imprisonment. The human rights defender refused to file an appeal in the hope of conditional early release (CER) in May.
Oyub Titiev has been in custody since January 9, 2018. He insists that drugs were planted to him. The HRC "Memorial" submitted to the court 10 facts testifying to the falsification of the criminal case.
This year, the Boris Nemtsov Foundation for Freedom for the fourth time defines a person who will be awarded for defending democratic values in Russia. The voting will be ended on April 30. The award amounts to 10,000 euros.
In 2018, Oyub Titiev had already become one of the five finalists for the Boris Nemtsov Prize.
This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on April 5, 2019 at 03:56 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.