Trial on Oyub Titiev: day 6

Oyub is in the hall with all three lawyers. There are also representatives from the New Gazeta, the Caucasian Knot, the Caucasus, Reality, the journal DOSH, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International.

CHGTRK Grozny and Grozny inform.

Many relatives, as always.

Judge Zaynetdinov is in the hall. The proceedings begins.

Witness 1(26), Ismail Demelkhanov, born 1968. Senior expert (?).

He has been at the Kurchaloevskij police station since 2000.

Oyub lived next door to old department, they used meet each other outside. «Times are hard. They didn’t drink vodka, and we didn’t tell about anything else.»

On January 9 he went out to the outskirts of Kurchaloy after the discovery of the substance of a vegetable origin. The investigator seized the bag. Titiev refused to sign.

Right there the sealing labels for the cars are prepared. All of the security officials signed the labels, but Titiev refused.

The protocol was read out. Oyub refused to sign. The attesting witness and the witness signed.

The attesting witness came earlier than the investigatory-operative group (IOG).

During the inspection of the scene of the accident, a photo table was drawn up. I took a picture of the car, the package, and the stuff in the package. The photographic table was compiled and transmitted to the investigator «in a live and electronic form».

The car was sealed at the department in the presence of the attesting witnesses.

He didn’t participate in anything else related to the investigation of Titiev.

Such raid is one of thousands, ordinary, says the witness.

Each year there are more than ten, probably, Novikov clarifies. Witness: Probably, I’d need to double check. Novikov: More than one hundred? Witness: No, I don’t only work in Kurchaloe, but also in Grozny.

The witness has access to inspection of the place of the incident. The duties of the witness include identifying, collecting, packing and handling over all evidence to the investigator.

The investigor did the inspection himself, the witness assisted.

In the case of the Titiev's car, he helped: took photographs and helped the investigator to pack the evidence. Investigator Muratov signed the tags.

In addition to the package under the right seat, there were no contraband items. There was no weapon. He did not search Oyub and he does not know whether he had a gun.

In the department, the investigator instructed someone to bring over Oyub’s car. The witness did not hear the instructions.

Before the arrival of the attesting witnesses they did not inspect the car.

Oyub’s car was on the side of the road, towards the Maytrup village. When the IOG arrived, there were no other cars.

He does not remember when or how the attesting witnesses arrived.

After the packages had been sealed, he gave the packages to the investigator and left in the same UAZ. He does not remember if it was the same group. They went straight to the police station.

The same attesting witnesses attended sealing of the car.

The car was not left under a canopy.

The labels were paper. He didn’t express any concerns about the paper holding up in January weather.

He did not see this car anymore. «What? Am I supposed to guard the car? There is special service that guards the cars in the department lot.»

There was a substance strewn on the rug. Muratov took the rug, poured the substance into a bag and sealed it. The witness held the bag.

The witness gave the bag and watched as the investigator labeled it, which he helped with.

Now the witness is the only expert in the Kurchaloevskij region. In January he was also the only one.

The witness complains of a bad back — a hernia. He is offered a chair, but he refuses — «it’s awkward to sit in front of women.»

The package was taken out by Muratov (no one else touched it after that) who put it on the seat, opened it for inspection. The attesting witnesses and the witness looked at it. Oyub did not come near them.

He can differentiate hay and tobacco from marijuana by scent and color, for example.

The lawyer Zaikin tries to get out of the witness what marijuana smells like. The witness says that he came across it at work. He is very nervous and his voice gets higher.

Muratov carefully unfolded the bag and showed it to everyone. The witness, not touching, put a scale ruler against it and took a close photograph. All of the attesting witnesses were next to him at this time.

There was no search of Titiev at the place of the incident. Whether or not there was one done later he does not know. The witness did not participate in it if there was.

The witness does not know whether other people are examined when substances are found on them. He, as an expert, should not do it.

He does not remember cars other than the Kalina.

There was nothing else found other than marijuana pot.

Zaikin: The sealing is not documented anywhere. Witness: This is the investigator’s problem, he wrote it in the protocol.

The witness read the protocol himself. «What am I, an idiot? Signing without reading? Who knows what types of nonsense he has in his head!

The witness was not wearing gloves.

«We approached. I think the cover from the seat was thrown back and the package under the seat was visible, if you look. The investigator took him, unfolded the neck for review.»

Employees of the road police were near, but they didn’t take part in the inspection and explanations were not given to the investigator.

The witness stood by the open door. He bent a little to see the bag. He does not remember if he stood in or outside the door.

Before the investigator started doing anything the witness photographed everything.

Novikov: Why did you write the protocol when the car still hadn’t been sealed?
Witness: How else would you deliver it?

The protocol was completed at the site of the incident.

Other than marijuana pot nothing else was removed, including documents.

He did not see Oyub’s documents.

He also did not see Oyub’s passport. «These documents are not the objects for inspection."

He did not notice whether the right panel over the steering wheel was damaged.

The witness does not know based on which types of Oyub’s documents the investigator drafted the protocol.

The witness says that when the IOG left, employees of the General Administration for Traffic Safety (GATS) stayed. Last time traffic inspector Khutayev said that they left before the IOG finished work.

The questioning was moved to the judge’s bench and we can't hear anything.

The question is over.

2(27) Garaev Alikhan Sultanovich, senior inspector of the GATS.

On January 9 they stopped Oyub because his light was out on his car.

They stayed near and Khutaev stopped directly.

It became clear after pulling him over that Oyub could not provide his [insurance] policy.

Khutaev prepared the materials on the administrative offenses.

When Oyub was looking for the insurance in the glove compartment, they saw in the front rug vegetable substance.

Oyub looked in the glove compartment on the passenger side. Garaev noticed the vegetable substance. He asked Oyub what it was. He does not know what he answered.

Garaev saw the bag under the seat and asked what it was. Oyub said that he did not know.

It seemed suspicious to Garaev and so they called the IOG. The IOG came quickly, the department was nearby.

Garaev asked another employee, Danchaev, to go get the attesting witnesses.

The group did not start the inspection before the attesting witnesses arrived.

The bag and whatever was on the rug were seized.

During the inspection Garaev did not participate, but he was standing nearby.

He was at the site of the inspection until the end of the inspection.

Afterwards, Titiev and his car were taken to the department.

Garaev was questioned in the Kurchaloevskij police station and in the investigative department in Grozny.

There was a confrontation of witnesses in Zaikin’s presence.

At first Oyub was very calm but then he started to get nervous. «I started to object," added Oyub.

Novikov: Your observation and vigilance brought us all here, Alikhan Sultanovich.

Novikov clarifies who was standing where in relation to the car at the time the car was pulled over.

Why did they start reviewing the VIN number? Witness: It’s our job.

Novikov: Why did you start to checking this car to take it, is this not what you always do? Garaev: That’s how it worked out.

Between nine to ten they arrived cam to the post, and they pulled over more cars and after fifteen-twenty minutes they stopped Oyub.

Garaev did not see Oyub’s documents.

The service car was on the rightside of the road.

They asked Oyub to open the trunk and the hood. Khutaev went to run the VIN number. Oyub took out the things from the trunk.

Khutayev made two reports on the administrative violation. Oyub refused to sign them. Garaev did not record this in any way. He says it is not necessary.

When Garaev noticed the substance Oyub, standing at the passenger door, was looking in the glove compartment for the insurance.

They also ask this witness to describe the set-up of where everybody was standing at that time.

Garaev called the duty station from his mobile phone.

Novikov requests a printout of the phone calls from his number with the witness’s consent.

Novikov: Titiev’s back wasn’t blocking your view of the rug. Garaev: Of course. Novikov: Following your description of where everyone was standing, Titiev’s back was completely blocking your view.

Garaev did not smell anything.

Novikov: How did it come to you that it was not tobacco in the bag? Garaev: They asked the driver and he said that he did not know.

Without looking into the bag and seeing the green dust on the rug, Garayev suspected that there was prohibited substance in the package. The driver could not answer what he had in the package.

After this he called the IOG.

They did not give Oyub orders not to leave.

At the end, Oyub started getting nervous, the witness said. How exactly he showed his nervousness is hard to describe. Oyub said that the package did not belong to him.

Since he worked in the road police, he knows that the attesting witnesses are needed. He asked Danchaev (who works in the road police) to get them. Danchaev left for them. 

It took much less than an hour for the IOG to arrive. Within the group there was an investigator, an expert, a driver, and maybe someone else.

He was not around the investigator while he was doing his work, the witness had walked away.

Garaev was the last to leave the site. Tataev, the intern, probably left with Oyub.

He does not remember who was driving Titiev’s car.

Why did they decide to take the car to the department? Why did they instruct Tatev to go with Titiev? Witness: Someone said that the car had to be taken to the police station.

They probably explained to Oyub that he needs to go to the police station. The witness didn’t hear anything like this.

Tataev was not armed, he’s an intern.

Titiev’s car is still sealed at the police station.

Khutaev showed Garaev the ruling and report at the end of the day.

He does not know if Titiev received a copy of those documents.

He did not hear whether Titiev commented on the documents.

He did not see a gun on him.

He probably did not try to call anyone.

Why didn’t Titiev leave? Witness: You need to ask him that.

Titiev was not searched for weapons. There was no suspicion.

He cannot describe Titiev as a person, he does not know him and they did not have friends or acquaintances in common.

The register in the patrol car seemed to be out of order.

Oyub was driving alone.

They did not ask to open his doors. Only the hood and the trunk.

It wasn’t a search. Garaev insists they were verifying the VIN number.

Zaikin: Is it considered an inspection to remove something from the trunk? Garaev: We did not ask him to take anything out of the car.

They did not do personal search on Oyub themselves. He did not see if IOG did.

He had never seen the attesting witnesses before and did not know them.

He did not see them in their uniforms.

Sometimes they stand in that place, at the bridge on the outskirts of Kurchaloy.

This area is where accidents happen, which is why they have posts there sometimes.

Garaev decided himself that on January 9 they will be patrolling this spot.

After pulling Oyuv over no one else was pulled over.

That evening there was no chance to check whether Khutaev had any other materials on him.

Five minute recess.

Dubrovina asks about the numbering of the reports. Witness: They can be out of order, random.

He does not know if there was a register turned on.

To register that a light was out you do not need to video record.

After Khutaev took Oyub’s documents, Garaev did not see htem.

He did not see Oyub’s passport and he did not ask for it.

Khutaev wrote the report.

Garaev did not write it himself.

In the protocol it is indicated that Khutaev saw a substance on the rug. Khutaev said himself during questioning that he did not see anything. Garaev is certainly not talking about this.

He does not remember what color uniform Garaev had on.

He does not remember whether there was someone on the team in a spotted uniform. There should not have been anyone.

The witness says that every unit has its own uniform.

He does not know if they wear green camouflage.

He goes not know what RRU is.

Camouflage with the letters RRU? I don’t even know what that unit is.

He did not see a camouflage car.

He does not remember a khaki-colored Patriot car.

There is a white and silver Niva.

He did not see the initials «RRU» or «RRU Kurchalooy.»

He does not know the units that use similar letters on the territory of the Chechen Republic.

There are no Fords among the GATS cars.

Zaikin asks about the Ford with a specific number, which is assigned to Garaev. The witness answers that others could use it, but he was responsible for it. Now this machine is written off.

The witness does not know about the IRT.

Novikov petitions to get the call log from Garaev’s number on January 9.

The court grabts the petition.

Garaev must print the call logs.

The judge asks for them for the next court day.

The defense asks to the see the report of the confrontation between Oyub and Garaev. Zaikin says there are contradictions.

And also to disclose the record of Garaev’s questioning at the preliminary investigation, since the questions at the confrontation were based on the answers provided during preliminary investigation.

The petition is granted.

The judge reads the reports.

Novikov: During the confrontation, you said that during the inspection you were «somewhere in the middle on the outside of the passenger door." On the diagram today you drew that you were at the edge on the inside. Which is true?"

Witness: A lot of time has passed, I don’t remember. But from there it is clear that this was on the outside of the door.

He does not remember if he was looking from through the window or through the open door.

Zaikin: Where did you observe the inspection of the scene? Witness: I was standing next to it. I saw what they were doing there, but I did not see when they discovered the bag.

The questioning ends.

Recess until 3:30pm.

The proceedings continue.

The witness was here, but he left.

The judge makes a complaint about the absence of witnesses. She asks that tomorrow they provide a sufficient number of witnesses. We’ll question as many as we can and let the rest go. Recess until tomorrow.