Court in Chechnya sentences rights activist to four years in penal colony

Oyub Titiev, the head of human rights group Memorial in Chechnya, attends his verdict hearing at a court in the town of Shali, in Chechnya, Russia, March 18, 2019. REUTERS/Said Tsarnayev

SHALI, Russia (Reuters) - A court in Chechnya sentenced Oyub Titiev, a prominent human rights activist, to four years in a penal settlement on Monday after finding him guilty of possessing illegal drugs, a charge his supporters say was trumped up.

Titiev, who runs the office of the Memorial Human Rights Centre in the southern Russian region, was detained in January last year by police who said they had found around 200 grams (7.05 oz) of cannabis in his car after stopping him to check his documents. Titiev said the drugs were planted.