Verdict due in rights activist’s case in Russia’s Chechnya

A court in Russia’s Chechnya is due to issue its verdict today in the case of a prominent rights activist.

Oyuba Titiyev was detained in January 2018 and charged with drug possession in what has been largely perceived as a vendetta against the rare critic of the Chechen government.

Titiyev was the head of the Chechen office of prominent rights group memorial and played a major role in exposing extrajudicial killings, kidnappings and torture perpetrated by the Chechen government.

Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, who previously described rights activists as liars and traitors, publicly called the 61 year old Titiyev a drug addict.

Titiyev’s supporters say the case aims to silence the activist, who is known as a Devout Muslim.