Trial Against Oyub Titiev: Day 10
During the trial on September 6, 2018, two witnesses were questioned. Both positively characterized Oyub Titiev.
At the beginning of the trial, the judge, prosecution and defense discussed the problem of witness attendance. Some members of the Ministry of Internal Affairs were transferred to other departments, others were on vacation, and the witness who allegedly saw Oyub smoking marijuana, Baskhanov, cannot be found.
Witness Lilya Yusupova, executive director of the organization "Sozidanie,” said that Oyub Titiev had worked in the Gudermes branch of Memorial since 2001, which she headed. In 2011, Oyub Titiev was given a Lada Kalina car for work on an assistance project for prisoners from Ingushetia and Chechnya, which is currently being implemented. The car was insured in 2017. Yusupova checked the insurance, because the car is listed under Sozidanie’s budget. Oyub Titiev clarified that the insurance is valid from October 2017 to October 2018. Remember that the police officers claimed to have stopped Oyub in said car because “the insurance was overdue.”.
According to Yusupova, Oyub Titiev is a responsible and caring person, who had a good reputation among his colleagues and who at work was her right-hand man. He led a healthy lifestyle: he ran every day and even worked out during while on trips. Yusupova never saw Oyub smoking or intoxicated.
Then Oyub Titiev’s neighbor, Aslanbek Gabayev, came forward for questioning. He said that he had known Oyub since he was a child and had nothing but good things to say about him. Oyub was a runner and went to the gym after work to work out.
The next court day will be on September 13, 2018.
After the trial, Oyub Titiev received a letter telling him that he was one of three nominees for the Vaclav Havel prize, a prestigious international award “for civil courage and outstanding achievements in the field of human rights.”
