Anna Nemtsova - Does Anyone in the Kremlin Care About Human Rights?

By Dilip -
GROZNY, Chechnya—A prominent human rights defender, 61-year-old Oyub Titiyev, is on trial here in the Russian republic of Chechnya, which has a notoriously authoritarian regime. Since the day of Titiyev’s arrest last January, Dunja Mijatovic, commissioner for human rights for the Council of Europe, has been asking the Kremlin and prosecutor general of the Russian Federation to free Titiyev, head of the Chechen office of the human rights group Memorial. Titiyev is being tried on spurious charges of drug possession, with a verdict expected on Monday.

Moscow has not listened to Mijatovic, but she does not give up. In an exclusive interview with The Daily Beast, Mijatovic said that she had seen many men in power, including Russian officials, who managed to force strong voices to be silent. But she does not intend to let that happen. She first took up the cause of human rights in her native country, Bosnia and Herzogevina during the genocidal war that raged there from 1992 to 1995, and her official mission now is to protect and strengthen the system of human rights in the 47 member states of the Council of Europe, including Russia.
If there is one person who will stand up for Titiyev and for human rights, she is the one.

“In spite of the apathy we see in many countries today, we need to find a way and communicate the importance of human rights,”  Mijatovic told The Daily Beast via Skype from her office in Vienna. “I am blessed to do this with my energy and strength, devoting my expertise,” the commissioner says, then adds: “This is not easy, it’s not a glamour job.”

In Bosnia, Mijatovic created institutions to protect the rights of journalists. She served as director of broadcasting at the Communications Regulatory Agency of Bosnia and Herzegovina. She also chaired the Council of Europe’s group of specialists on freedom of information. From 2010 to 2017, she was the representative for media freedom at the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)... read more:

https://www.thedailybeast.com/does-anyone-in-the-kremlin-care-about-human-rights-dunja-mijatovic-is-going-to-make-damn-sure-they-do?ref=home

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