{"id":11949,"date":"2015-03-26T14:45:35","date_gmt":"2015-03-26T11:45:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.waynakh.com\/eng\/?p=11949"},"modified":"2019-08-11T13:19:56","modified_gmt":"2019-08-11T10:19:56","slug":"zhebrailova-and-others-v-russia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.waynakh.com\/eng\/2015\/03\/zhebrailova-and-others-v-russia\/","title":{"rendered":"Zhebrailova and Others v. Russia"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The ECHR case of Zhebrailova and Others v. Russia (application no. 40166\/07).<\/span><!--more--><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\">\u2026<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #ffffff;\"> .<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #ffffff;\"> \u2026.\u2026<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #ffffff;\"> \u2026<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">FIRST SECTION<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">CASE OF ZHEBRAILOVA AND OTHERS v. RUSSIA<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">(Application no. 40166\/07)<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">JUDGMENT<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">STRASBOURG<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">26 March 2015<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><em><span style=\"color: #000000;\">This judgment will become final in the circumstances set out in Article 44 \u00a7 2 of the Convention. It may be subject to editorial revision.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">In the case of <strong>Zhebrailova and Others v. Russia<\/strong>,<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The European Court of Human Rights (First Section), sitting as a Chamber composed of:<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Isabelle Berro, President,<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"> Elisabeth Steiner,<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"> Khanlar Hajiyev,<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"> Mirjana Lazarova Trajkovska,<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"> Julia Laffranque,<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"> Paulo Pinto de Albuquerque,<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"> Dmitry Dedov, judges,<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">and Andr\u00e9 Wampach, Deputy Section Registrar,<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Having deliberated in private on 3 March 2015,<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Delivers the following judgment, which was adopted on that date:<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">PROCEDURE<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">1. The case originated in an application (no. 40166\/07) against the Russian Federation lodged with the Court under Article 34 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (\u201cthe Convention\u201d) by three Russian nationals, listed in paragraph 4 below (\u201cthe applicants\u201d), on 11 September 2007.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">2. The applicants were represented by lawyers of the EHRAC\/Memorial Human Rights Centre, an NGO with offices in Moscow and London. The Russian Government (\u201cthe Government\u201d) were represented by Mr G. Matyushkin, the Representative of the Russian Federation at the European Court of Human Rights.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">3. On 27 August 2009 the application was communicated to the Government. It was also decided to grant it priority under Rule 41 of the Rules of Court and to rule on its admissibility and merits at the same time (Article 29 \u00a7 1).<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">THE FACTS<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">I. THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE CASE<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">4. The applicants are:<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">(1) Ms Isita (also spelled as Yisita) Zhebrailova, born in 1956;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">(2) Mr Shuddi Vakhayev, born in 1954, and<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">(3) Mr Salavdi Zhebrailov, born in 1980.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">5. The first and second applicants are the parents of Mr Balavdi (also spelled as Balauddi) Zhebrailov, born in 1982. The third applicant is Mr Balavdi Zhebrailov\u2019s brother. The applicants reside in the village of Gekhi, the Chechen Republic.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">A. Abduction of Mr Balavdi Zhebrailov and the third applicant, and related events<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">1. The applicants\u2019 account<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">6. At about 12 midnight on 25 April 2005 a group of four men wearing uniforms and armed with assault rifles burst into the applicants\u2019 property at 23 Pervomayskaya Street in Gekhi. Two of the intruders were wearing masks. The applicants inferred that the intruders were law-enforcement officers. The men ordered the applicants to lie down and grabbed hold of Mr Balavdi Zhebrailov and the third applicant, who was in his underwear. They then dragged them outside, firing several shots in the air to prevent the first and second applicants, as well as their relatives L.Sh. and Kh.A., from following them. The men threw the Zhebrailov brothers into a UAZ vehicle with a beacon on the roof and marked \u201cpolice\u201d (\u043c\u0438\u043b\u0438\u0446\u0438\u044f), which was parked about 300 metres away from the applicants\u2019 house, and drove off.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">7. On the outskirts of Gekhi, Mr Balavdi Zhebrailov and the third applicant were transferred from the UAZ vehicle to a VAZ-99 vehicle driven by officer S. of the 2nd Regiment of the Road Police of the Ministry of the Interior of the Chechen Republic (hereinafter \u201cthe 2nd regiment\u201d). The VAZ-99 vehicle took the road leading to Grozny and on the journey the men physically assaulted the Zhebrailov brothers. After a while the car passed through a checkpoint and Mr Balavdi Zhebrailov and the third applicant were taken to the premises of the 2nd regiment. The third applicant recognised the premises because he had come there two months earlier with a friend to apply for a job.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">8. Upon arrival the Zhebrailov brothers were put in a cell in a basement, beaten with rifle butts and interrogated about a pistol. After a while they were separated and the third applicant was placed in a cell with another arrestee of about forty years old. From his cell the third applicant could hear Mr Balavdi Zhebrailov screaming whilst being beaten.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">9. Shortly thereafter the persons, whom the applicants considered to be officers of the 2rd regiment, returned and physically assaulted the third applicant, saying that Mr Balavdi Zhebrailov had confirmed that the third applicant had a pistol and threatening to take the latter to the military base in Khankala. They kicked and beat the third applicant all over his body and also hit him several times on the head with a rifle butt. Sometime later they dragged the third applicant outside, gave him police trousers and a shirt belonging to his brother and pushed him into a grey UAZ vehicle equipped with a partition for prisoners\u2019 transport. The car carrying the third applicant and two police officers passed through a checkpoint and after a short time stopped in the vicinity of the \u201cnorthern market\u201d in Grozny, where the third applicant was released. The third applicant then went to the home of an uncle of his who lives in Grozny, from where the third applicant\u2019s relatives took him home on the morning on 26 April 2005.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">10. Upon his return home, the third applicant had numerous bruises on his chest, back and legs and also wounds on his head, sustained as a result of the blows with the rifle butt.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">11. On 26 April 2005 the third applicant\u2019s relatives took him to the local hospital. While queuing there, the third applicant spotted one of his abductors, officer S. of the 2nd regiment. Fearing reprisals, the applicants immediately left, without obtaining medical assistance. At home the third applicant was treated by a family friend Z., a nurse. She bandaged his head and gave him medication. As a result of the ill-treatment the third applicant could barely walk. He had to stay at home for a week.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">12. The applicants have had no news of Mr Balavdi Zhebrailov since his abduction.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">13. In support of their account of events, the applicants furnished written statements by L.Sh. and Kh.A. dated 12 and 14 December 2006, and detailed written statements by the first to third applicants dated 5 May and 12 December 2006, 17 January 2007, and 7 January, 15 and 30 March 2010.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">2. The Government\u2019s submissions<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">14. The Government submitted that the national investigation had established that on the night of 25\/26 April 2005, unidentified armed men in camouflage uniforms had burst into the applicants\u2019 property and had abducted Mr Balavdi Zhebrailov and the third applicant. The abductors had assaulted the third applicant and then released him.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">B. Official investigation<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">15. The Government submitted some 280 pages from criminal case-file no. 47041 which was opened to look into the events of 26 April 2005. The submitted documents covered the period from April 2005 to December 2009. Many of the documents furnished by the Government were incomplete, such as witness statements submitted only in part. Some documents were illegible. The relevant information may be summarised as follows.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">1. Main investigative steps and witness statements taken by the authorities<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">16. The local police were informed of the abduction of the Zhebrailov brothers at 2 a.m. on 26 April 2005. At about 2.15 a.m. on the same day a group of police officers arrived at the applicants\u2019 property. They inspected the crime scene, seized a bullet cartridge found during their inspection and interviewed eight eyewitnesses, including the applicants. The interview records and police officers\u2019 reports referred to the fact that the abductors had worn camouflage uniforms, carried assault rifles, used a UAZ vehicle \u2012 with a beacon and a muddied licence plate bearing the inscription \u201cGrozny\u201d \u2012 as well as a VAZ-99 vehicle with blackened windows and licence plate number \u201c862\u201d, and had fired shots into the air. In the third applicant\u2019s interview record, he described in detail the circumstances of the abduction and the ensuing events, including his alleged ill-treatment. He also explicitly stated that he and his brother had been detained at the 2nd regiment\u2019s premises and stressed that the men who had interrogated them and assaulted them had not concealed that they belonged to the police.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">17. On 20 June 2005 the Urus-Martan district prosecutor\u2019s office (hereinafter \u201cthe district prosecutor\u2019s office\u201d) instituted a criminal investigation into the events of 25-26 April 2005 under Article 126 \u00a7 2 of the Criminal Code (aggravated kidnapping).<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">18. On 27 June 2005 the first applicant was granted victim status in case no. 47041.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">19. The ballistic examination of the bullet cartridge seized at the crime scene, carried out on 30 June 2005, established that the bullet could have been shot by an AK-47 assault rifle and that the gun could be identified.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">20. In the ensuing period between June 2005 and December 2009 the investigators mainly re-interviewed the individuals questioned by the police on 26 April 2005. They also questioned some further witnesses \u2012 residents of Gekhi \u2012 some of whom confirmed the applicants\u2019 account of events; others stated that they had learnt about the abduction from the applicants. The third applicant\u2019s uncle, R.Zh., interviewed in September 2007, stated that when the third applicant had arrived at his home in Grozny on the morning of 26 April 2005, his head had been covered in blood. When interviewed as a witness in October 2009, Z. stated that after the third applicant\u2019s return home in April 2005, she had treated him for wounds to his head and had given him pain-killing injections.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">21. The investigation in case no. 47041 was suspended in August 2005, March 2006, September 2007, November 2009 and on the latest occasion on 4 March 2010. Supervising prosecutors repeatedly set aside those decisions, ordering the investigation to be resumed and pointing to the investigators\u2019 failure to take a number of important steps. For instance, on 26 January 2006, 21 August 2007 and then again, as late as on 23 October 2009, the supervising prosecutors pointed out the investigators\u2019 failure to inspect the premises of the 2nd regiment and verify the allegation of the involvement of its officers in the crime with the participation of the third applicant, in spite of his specific assertions that he had been detained on those premises and that the regiment officers had not concealed that they belonged to the police. The investigators, who had on various dates forwarded several information requests to local law-enforcement agencies to verify those allegations, were instructed to resume the proceedings and take the necessary steps. From the documents submitted it is unclear whether the requested steps were taken.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">22. The investigation in case no. 47041 is still pending.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">2. Court proceedings against the investigators<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">23. On 23 April 2007 the Urus-Martan District Court dismissed as unfounded the applicants\u2019 complaint that the investigation had been ineffective and that the investigators\u2019 had refused to allow the applicants access to the case file. The court stated that the investigators had taken all possible investigative steps and that the applicants\u2019 arguments concerning the procrastination of the investigation were not convincing.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">3. Investigative steps concerning the third applicant\u2019s alleged ill\u2011treatment<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">24. On 14 February 2006 the investigators granted the third applicant victim status in criminal case no. 47041 and ordered his medical examination.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">25. Expert report no. 152 of 20 February 2006 stated that the third applicant had two scars on the top of the head, which could have been sustained in April 2005 as a result of the impact of a blunt, firm object.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">26. On 1 March 2006, in the light of the expert\u2019s findings, the investigators also classified the abductors\u2019 acts under Article 116 \u00a7 1 of the Criminal Code (application of physical force to another person, causing physical pain but not resulting in health damage).<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">II. RELEVANT DOMESTIC LAW AND PRACTICE<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">27. For a summary of the relevant domestic law see Aslakhanova and Others v. Russia (nos. 2944\/06, 8300\/07, 50184\/07, 332\/08 and 42509\/10, \u00a7\u00a7 43-59, 18 December 2012).<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">THE LAW<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">I. ALLEGED VIOLATION OF ARTICLE 2 OF THE CONVENTION<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">28. The applicants complained that Mr Balavdi Zhebrailov had been abducted by police officers, that he had then disappeared, and that the national authorities had failed to carry out an effective investigation into his disappearance. They relied on Article 2 of the Convention, which reads:<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u201c1. Everyone\u2019s right to life shall be protected by law. No one shall be deprived of his life intentionally save in the execution of a sentence of a court following his conviction of a crime for which this penalty is provided by law.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">2. Deprivation of life shall not be regarded as inflicted in contravention of this article when it results from the use of force which is no more than absolutely necessary:<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">(a) in defence of any person from unlawful violence;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">(b) in order to effect a lawful arrest or to prevent the escape of a person lawfully detained;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">(c) in action lawfully taken for the purpose of quelling a riot or insurrection.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">A. Submissions by the parties<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">29. With reference to the investigation conducted by the national authorities, the Government argued that there was no evidence \u201cbeyond reasonable doubt\u201d that Mr Balavdi Zhebrailov had been abducted by State agents or that he was dead. The national authorities had not established that any special operations aimed at arresting Mr Balavdi Zhebrailov or the third applicant had been conducted on 26 April 2005. The investigation of the abduction satisfied the Convention requirement of \u201ceffectiveness\u201d and the authorities were taking all possible measures to solve the crime. In any event, the obligation to investigate was \u201cnot an obligation of result but of means\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">30. The applicants maintained that there existed evidence \u201cbeyond reasonable doubt\u201d that Mr Balavdi Zhebrailov and the third applicant had been abducted by State agents and argued that the missing man was to be presumed dead. They stressed that the Government had not challenged any of their factual submissions. They emphasised that the abductors had used UAZ vehicles marked \u201cpolice\u201d and with a flashing beacon, such distinctive features being reserved for police vehicles only. The VAZ-99 car had been driven by officer S. of the 2nd regiment and it had freely passed through the checkpoint manned by the regiment, on whose premises the Zhebrailov brothers had ultimately been held. The involvement of officers of the 2nd regiment in the abduction had formed the main focus of the investigation. In the applicants\u2019 submission, the documents furnished by the Government supported their assertions.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">31. As to the investigation, the applicants argued that proceedings in case no. 47041 had been opened after an unjustifiable delay. The crime scene inspection had been carried out in a superficial manner and, despite the expert\u2019s findings, the authorities had failed to identify the weapon used by the abductors. Neither officer S. nor any other officers of the 2nd regiment had been interviewed. No steps had been taken to identify the VAZ-99 vehicle. The applicants stated that the authorities had systematically refused to investigate similar crimes committed in the Chechen Republic.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">B. The Court\u2019s assessment<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">1. Admissibility<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">32. The Court notes that this complaint is not manifestly ill-founded within the meaning of Article 35 \u00a7 3 (a) of the Convention. It further notes that it is not inadmissible on any other grounds. It must therefore be declared admissible.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">2. Merits<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">(a) Alleged violation of the right to life of Mr Balavdi Zhebrailov<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">(i) General principles<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">33. The Court reiterates that, given the importance of the protection afforded by Article 2, it must subject deprivations of life to the most careful scrutiny, taking into consideration not only the actions of State agents but also all the surrounding circumstances. Detained persons are in a vulnerable position and the obligation incumbent on the authorities to account for the treatment of a detained individual is particularly stringent where that individual dies or disappears after such detention (see, among other authorities, Orhan v. Turkey, no. 25656\/94, \u00a7 326, 18 June 2002, and the authorities cited therein).<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">(ii) Establishment of the facts<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">34. The Court observes that it has developed a number of general principles relating to the establishment of disputed facts, in particular when faced with allegations of disappearance under Article 2 of the Convention (for a summary of these, see Bazorkina v. Russia, no. 69481\/01, \u00a7\u00a7 103\u201109, 27 July 2006). It also reiterates that the conduct of the parties when evidence is being obtained must be taken into account (see Tan\u0131\u015f and Others v. Turkey, no. 65899\/01, \u00a7 65899\/01, ECHR 2005\u2013VIII, and Aslakhanova, cited above, \u00a7 95).<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">35. The Court considers it important to point out that it has examined a number of cases concerning allegations of disappearances in the Chechen Republic where it has found that it would be sufficient for the applicants to make a prima facie case of abduction by State agents and that it would then be for the Government to discharge their burden of proof either by disclosing the documents in their exclusive possession or by providing a satisfactory and convincing explanation of how the events in question had occurred. In examining those cases, the Court acknowledged the difficulties for applicants in obtaining evidence in support of their submissions and held that the prima facie threshold was reached on the basis of witness statements \u2012 including the applicants\u2019 submissions to the Court and the national authorities \u2012 and other evidence attesting to the presence of military or security personnel in the area concerned at the relevant time. Among other things, it relied on references to military vehicles and equipment, the unhindered passage of the abductors through military roadblocks, the conduct typical of security operations and other relevant information about special operations, such as media and NGO reports (see Aslakhanova, cited above, \u00a7\u00a7 98-99, with further references).<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">36. Turning to the circumstances of the present case, the Court observes that the applicants submitted that at midnight on 25 April 2005 a group of armed and camouflaged men had apprehended Mr Balavdi Zhebrailov and the third applicant at home and had taken them to the premises of the 2nd regiment of the road police in Grozny, where the brothers had been interrogated and physically assaulted and from where the third applicant had been taken to a market in Grozny and released, whilst the fate of Mr Balavdi Zhebrailov remained unclear. According to the applicants, the abductors had used UAZ vehicles with special police equipment, the VAZ\u201199 vehicle had been driven by officer S. of the 2nd regiment and the abductors had freely passed through that regiment\u2019s checkpoint (see paragraphs 6 &#8211; 11 above).<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">37. Having regard to the applicants\u2019 submissions, the Court considers that they presented detailed and coherent accounts of the abduction of the Zhebrailov brothers and the related events \u2012 which remained consistent \u2012 both before the national authorities and this Court. The applicants\u2019 allegations were corroborated not only by the statements made by L. Sh. and Kh. A., which they submitted as evidence (see paragraph 13 above), but also by the interview records of the witnesses questioned by the investigating authorities (see paragraph 20 above).<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">38. With this in mind and having regard to the considerations set out in paragraph 35 above, the Court is satisfied that the applicants made a prima facie case that Mr Balavdi Zhebrailov and the third applicant had been abducted by State agents in the circumstances set out by them.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">39. The Court further notes that the Government did not contest any of the applicants\u2019 specific factual allegations and limited their position to a general statement that the national investigation had not obtained any evidence that the abductors were State agents (see paragraphs 14 and 29 above). Furthermore, the Court has serious doubts that the Government ever in fact provided an entire copy of case file no. 47071, as requested (see paragraph 15 above).<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">40. Against this background the Court considers that, whilst the applicants made out a prima facie case concerning the abduction of the Zhebrailov brothers by State agents, the Government failed to discharge their burden of proof either by disclosing the documents in their possession or providing a satisfactory and convincing explanation of how the events in question had occurred (compare Aslakhanova, cited above, \u00a7\u00a7 103-04, 106\u201107, 109-10, 111-12 and 114).<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">41. The Court therefore finds that Mr Balavdi Zhebrailov and the third applicant were taken into custody by State agents at midnight on 25 April 2005 during an unacknowledged security operation. Indeed, it transpires that the brothers\u2019 abduction by State agents was the main, if not the sole, focus followed up by the national investigating authorities (see paragraph 21 above).<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">42. It is reiterated that in the numerous previous cases concerning disappearances in the Chechen Republic which have come before the Court, the latter has found that in the particular context of the conflict in the Republic, when a person was detained by unidentified State agents without any subsequent acknowledgement of the detention, this ought to be regarded as life-threatening (see Aslakhanova, cited above, \u00a7 101, with further references). In the light of this, taken together with the third applicant\u2019s uncontested submissions concerning the treatment to which his brother was subjected and the absence of any reliable news of him for more than nine years, the Court finds that Mr Balavdi Zhebrailov should be presumed dead following his unacknowledged detention by State agents.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">(iii) The State\u2019s compliance with Article 2<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">43. The Court has established that Mr Balavdi Zhebrailov must be presumed dead following his unacknowledged detention by State agents. In the absence of any form of justification put forward by the Government, the Court finds that his death can be attributed to the State and that there has been a violation of the substantive aspect of Article 2 of the Convention in respect of Mr Balavdi Zhebrailov.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">(b) Alleged inadequacy of the investigation of the abduction<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">44. The Court reiterates that the obligation to protect the right to life under Article 2 of the Convention, read in conjunction with the State\u2019s general duty under Article 1 of the Convention to \u201csecure to everyone within [its] jurisdiction the rights and freedoms defined in [the] Convention\u201d, also requires by implication that there should be some form of effective official investigation when individuals have been killed as a result of the use of force (see, among other authorities, Ramsahai and Others v. the Netherlands [GC], no. 52391\/99, \u00a7 321, ECHR 2007\u2011II). The fundamental purpose of such an investigation is to secure the effective implementation of the domestic laws which protect the right to life and, in cases involving State agents or bodies, to ensure their accountability for deaths occurring under their responsibility. This investigation should be thorough, independent, accessible to the victim\u2019s family, carried out with reasonable promptness and expedition, effective in the sense that it is capable of leading to a determination of whether the force used in such cases was or was not justified in the circumstances or otherwise unlawful, and should afford a sufficient element of public scrutiny of the investigation or its results (see, among many other authorities, Esmukhambetov and Others v. Russia, no. 23445\/03, \u00a7\u00a7 115-18, 29 March 2011, and Aslakhanova, cited above, \u00a7 121, with further references).<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">45. Turning to the facts of the present case, the Court notes that although the national authorities were informed of the abduction of Mr Balavdi Zhebrailov on 26 April 2005 \u2012 that is to say immediately after it had occurred \u2012 the district prosecutor\u2019s office only decided to open a criminal investigation into the matter on 20 June 2005, almost two months later. The Court has held on many occasions that such considerable delays can in themselves affect the investigation of an abduction in life-threatening circumstances, where crucial action has to be taken in the first days after the event (see, among other authorities, Kerimova and Others v. Russia, nos. 17170\/04, 20792\/04, 22448\/04, 23360\/04, 5681\/05 and 5684\/05, \u00a7 269, 3 May 2011).<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">46. It is furthermore observed that, although the national authorities had at their disposal immediately after the abduction important and specific pieces of information concerning the vehicles used by the abductors and the place of the eventual detention of the Zhebrailov brothers (see paragraph 16 above), there is nothing to suggest that they took prompt, genuine steps to follow them up.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">47. In particular it is striking that, despite the third applicant having explicitly stated that he and Mr Balavdi Zhebrailov had been detained at the premises of the 2nd regiment in Grozny, the investigators limited their verification of that information to a written enquiry to that authority asking whether its officers had arrested or detained the brothers (see paragraphs 16 and 21 above). There is nothing to suggest that any attempts were made to inspect the premises or to interview any of the officers of the 2nd regiment (see paragraph 21 above).<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">48. The Court further notes that the supervising prosecutors repeatedly identified shortcomings in the investigation and instructed the investigators to look into the matter (see paragraph 21 above) but there is nothing in the case file to suggest that those instructions were complied with.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">49. In the light of the foregoing, and keeping in mind its findings in Aslakhanova and Others, cited above, concerning the systemic problem of ineffective investigation into disappearances perpetrated in the region between 1999 and 2006, the Court holds that the authorities failed to carry out an effective criminal investigation into the circumstances surrounding the disappearance of Mr Balavdi Zhebrailov, in breach of Article 2 in its procedural aspect.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">II. ALLEGED VIOLATIONS OF ARTICLE 3 OF THE CONVENTION<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">50. The applicants complained under Article 3 of the Convention that they had endured mental suffering because of the national authorities\u2019 reaction to the disappearance of Mr Balavdi Zhebrailov and their failure to investigate it properly. The third applicant complained under the same Convention provision that he had been subjected to ill-treatment after his abduction and that the national investigation into the matter had not been adequate. Article 3 reads:<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u201cNo one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">A. Submissions by the parties<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">51. The Government stated that the authorities\u2019 actions had not been in breach of Article 3 of the Convention in respect of the applicants. As regards the third applicant, they submitted that although the national investigation had confirmed that the abductors \u201chad applied physical violence\u201d to him, it had not established that they were State agents.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">52. The third applicant argued that, contrary to the Government\u2019s assertion, he had been subjected to ill-treatment by law-enforcement officials who had abducted him and that the national authorities had failed to carry out an effective investigation of the matter. The applicants maintained their submission concerning their mental suffering.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">B. The Court\u2019s assessment<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">1. Admissibility<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">53. The Court notes that these complaints are not manifestly ill-founded within the meaning of Article 35 \u00a7 3 (a) of the Convention. It further notes that they are not inadmissible on any other grounds. They must therefore be declared admissible.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">2. Merits<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">(a) As regards the third applicant<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">(i) The alleged ill-treatment<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">54. The Court reiterates that allegations of ill-treatment must be supported by appropriate evidence. To assess this evidence, the Court has adopted the standard of proof \u201cbeyond reasonable doubt\u201d, but has added that such proof may follow from the coexistence of sufficiently strong, clear and concordant inferences or of similar unrebutted presumptions of fact (see Labita v. Italy [GC], no. 26772\/95, \u00a7 121, ECHR 2000\u2011IV, and Ochelkov v. Russia, no. 17828\/05, \u00a7 83, 11 April 2013). Where an individual is taken into police custody in good health but is found to be injured at the time of release, it is incumbent on the State to provide a plausible explanation of how those injuries were caused, failing which an issue arises under Article 3 of the Convention (see, among other authorities, Tomasi v. France, 27 August 1992, \u00a7\u00a7 108-11, Series A no. 241\u2011A). Ill-treatment must attain a minimum level of severity if it is to fall within the scope of Article 3. The assessment of this minimum depends on all the circumstances of the case, such as the duration of the treatment, its physical or mental effects and, in some cases, the sex, age and state of health of the victim (see, among other authorities, Cobzaru v. Romania, no. 48254\/99, \u00a7 61, 26 July 2007).<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">55. Turning to the circumstances of the instant case, the Court notes that the Government have acknowledged that the abductors of the Zhebrailov brothers had subjected the third applicant to physical violence (see paragraphs 14 and 41 above) and rejects their argument that the perpetrators were not State agents in view of its findings in paragraph 43 above.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">56. It further points out that the third applicant\u2019s detailed and coherent submissions concerning the circumstances of his alleged ill-treatment and, in particular, the fact that the abductors had hit him several times on the head with a rifle butt, are corroborated by a statement given to the investigators by his uncle, in which the latter submitted that the third applicant\u2019s head was covered in blood (see paragraph 20 above) when he saw him on the morning of 26 April 2005. The presence of bodily injuries, including those to the third applicant\u2019s head, was further confirmed by Z. (see paragraph 20 above) and seems to be supported by the findings of expert report no. 152 (see paragraph 25 above). The Court also takes note of the applicants\u2019 submissions concerning the third applicant\u2019s condition after his return home on 26 April 2005 (see paragraph 11 above).<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">57. Against this background the Court finds it established to the standard of proof required in the Convention proceedings that the third applicant was subjected to the treatment he complained of at the hands of State agents. Having regard to all the circumstances of the treatment, such as its physical and mental effects on the third applicant, the Court considers that it amounted to inhuman and degrading treatment in violation of Article 3 of the Convention.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">58. Accordingly, there has been a violation of the above provision in respect of the third applicant its substantive aspect.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">(ii) The alleged inadequacy of the investigation<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">59. The Court reiterates that where an individual raises an arguable claim that he has been seriously ill-treated by the police or other agents of the State unlawfully and in breach of Article 3, that provision, read in conjunction with the State\u2019s general duty under Article 1 of the Convention to \u201csecure to everyone within [its] jurisdiction the rights and freedoms defined in &#8230; [the] Convention\u201d, requires by implication that there should be an effective official investigation. This investigation should be capable of leading to the identification and punishment of those responsible (see Assenov and Others v. Bulgaria, 28 October 1998, \u00a7 102, Reports of Judgments and Decisions 1998\u2011VIII).<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">60. An investigation into serious allegations of ill-treatment must be thorough. That means that the authorities must always make a serious attempt to find out what happened and should not rely on hasty or ill\u2011founded conclusions to close their investigation or as the basis for their decisions (see Mikheyev v. Russia, no. 77617\/01, \u00a7 108, 26 January 2006). They must take all steps reasonably available to them to secure the evidence concerning the incident, including eyewitness testimony and forensic evidence. The investigation into the alleged ill-treatment must be prompt. Lastly, there must be a sufficient element of public scrutiny of the investigation or its results; in particular, in all cases the complainant must be afforded effective access to the investigatory procedure (see, among many other authorities, Mikheyev, cited above, \u00a7\u00a7 108-110, and Bat\u0131 and Others v. Turkey, nos. 33097\/96 and 57834\/00, \u00a7 137, ECHR 2004 IV (extracts)).<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">61. Having regard to the principles enunciated above and turning to the circumstances of the present case, the Court finds that the national investigation into the third applicant\u2019s allegations of ill-treatment fell short of the required level of effectiveness for the reasons stated in relation to the complaint under Article 2 in paragraphs 45-48 above.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">62. There has therefore been a violation of Article 3 in its procedural aspect in respect of the third applicant.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">(b) As regards the applicants\u2019 mental suffering<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">63. The Court has found on many occasions that a situation of enforced disappearance gives rise to a violation of Article 3 in respect of close relatives of the victim. The essence of such a violation does not lie so much in the fact of the \u201cdisappearance\u201d of the family member but rather in the authorities\u2019 reactions and attitudes to the situation when it is brought to their attention (see Orhan v. Turkey, cited above, \u00a7 358, and Imakayeva v. Russia, no. 7615\/02, \u00a7 164, ECHR 2006\u2011XIII (extracts)).<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">64. In the present case, the Court notes that the first and second applicants are the parents of Mr Balavdi Zhebrailov and the third applicant is his brother. All the applicants witnessed the abduction of Mr Balavdi Zhebrailov and have had no news of their relative for almost ten years. During this period they have made enquiries of various official bodies, both in writing and in person, about their missing relative. Despite their attempts, the applicants have never received any plausible explanation or information about what became of Mr Balavdi Zhebrailov following his detention. Most of the responses they received denied State responsibility for his arrest or simply informed them that the investigation was ongoing. The Court\u2019s findings under the procedural aspect of Article 2 are also of direct relevance.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">65. The Court therefore concludes that there has been a violation of Article 3 of the Convention in respect of the applicants.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">III. ALLEGED VIOLATION OF ARTICLE 5 OF THE CONVENTION<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">66. The third applicant complained about his unacknowledged detention and the first to third applicants made the same complaint in respect of Mr Balavdi Zhebrailov. They relied on Article 5 of the Convention, which, in so far as relevant, reads:<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Article 5<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u201c1. Everyone has the right to liberty and security of person. No one shall be deprived of his liberty save in the following cases and in accordance with a procedure prescribed by law:&#8230;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">(c) the lawful arrest or detention of a person effected for the purpose of bringing him before the competent legal authority on reasonable suspicion of having committed an offence or when it is reasonably considered necessary to prevent his committing an offence or fleeing after having done so;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">&#8230;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">2. Everyone who is arrested shall be informed promptly, in a language which he understands, of the reasons for his arrest and of any charge against him.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">3. Everyone arrested or detained in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 1 (c) of this Article shall be brought promptly before a judge or other officer authorised by law to exercise judicial power and shall be entitled to trial within a reasonable time or to release pending trial. Release may be conditioned by guarantees to appear for trial.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">4. Everyone who is deprived of his liberty by arrest or detention shall be entitled to take proceedings by which the lawfulness of his detention shall be decided speedily by a court and his release ordered if the detention is not lawful.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">5. Everyone who has been the victim of arrest or detention in contravention of the provisions of this Article shall have an enforceable right to compensation.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">A. Submissions by the parties<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">67. The Government argued that the investigation file contained no evidence that Mr Balavdi Zhebrailov and the third applicant had been arrested or detained by State agents and that, therefore, the State was not responsible for the alleged violation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">68. The applicants maintained their complaints.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">B. The Court\u2019s assessment<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">1. Admissibility<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">69. The Court notes that the third applicant was released shortly after his abduction, on 26 April 2005, whereas the application was lodged in September 2007. However, taking into account the particular circumstances of this case along with its case law on the subject (see Aslakhanova and Others, cited above, \u00a7\u00a7 135-137 and El-Masri v. the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia [GC], no. 39630\/09, \u00a7 229 and \u00a7 240, ECHR 2012), the Court considers that this part of the application cannot be rejected for non-compliance with the six-month rule.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">70. The Court further notes that the complaint is not manifestly ill-founded within the meaning of Article 35 \u00a7 3(a) of the Convention, It further notes that it is not inadmissible on any other grounds. It must therefore be declared admissible.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">2. Merits<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">71. The Court has previously noted the fundamental importance of the guarantees contained in Article 5 for securing the right of individuals in a democracy to be free from arbitrary detention. It has also stated that unacknowledged detention is a complete negation of these guarantees and discloses a very grave violation of Article 5 (see \u00c7i\u00e7ek v. Turkey, no. 25704\/94, \u00a7 164, 27 February 2001, and Luluyev and Others v. Russia, no. 69480\/01, \u00a7 122, ECHR 2006-XIII (extracts)).<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">72. The Court considers it established that Mr Balavdi Zhebrailov and the third applicant had been detained by State agents at midnight on 25 April 2005, that the third applicant had been released several hours later and that Mr Balavdi Zhebrailov must be presumed dead following that detention.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">73. The Court observes that the detention of the Zhebrailov brothers was not logged in any custody records. In accordance with the Court\u2019s practice, this fact in itself must be considered a most serious failing, since it enables those responsible for an act of deprivation of liberty to conceal their involvement in a crime, to cover their tracks and to escape accountability for the fate of a detainee. Furthermore, the absence of detention records, noting such matters as the date, time and location of detention and the name of the detainee, as well as the reasons for the detention and the name of the person effecting it, must be seen as incompatible with the very purpose of Article 5 of the Convention (see Orhan, cited above, \u00a7 371).<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">74. Having regard to the foregoing and to the parties\u2019 submissions, the Court finds that the third applicant and Mr Balavdi Zhebrailov were held in unacknowledged detention without any of the safeguards contained in Article 5.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">75. Accordingly, there has been a violation of the right to liberty and security enshrined in Article 5 of the Convention in respect of Mr Balavdi Zhebrailov and the third applicant.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">IV. ALLEGED VIOLATION OF ARTICLE 13 OF THE CONVENTION<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">76. The applicants complained that they had been deprived of effective remedies in respect of the aforementioned grievances under Articles 2, 3 and 5, contrary to Article 13 of the Convention, which provides:<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u201cEveryone whose rights and freedoms as set forth in [the] Convention are violated shall have an effective remedy before a national authority notwithstanding that the violation has been committed by persons acting in an official capacity.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">A. Submissions by the parties<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">77. The Government contended that the applicants had had effective remedies at their disposal, as required by Article 13 of the Convention, and that the authorities had not prevented them from using those remedies.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">78. The applicants maintained their complaint.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">B. The Court\u2019 assessment<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">1. Admissibility<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">79. The Court notes that this complaint is not manifestly ill-founded within the meaning of Article 35 \u00a7 3 (a) of the Convention. It further notes that it is not inadmissible on any other grounds. It must therefore be declared admissible.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">2. Merits<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">80. The Court reiterates that in circumstances where, as in the instant case, a criminal investigation into a disappearance has been ineffective and the effectiveness of any other remedy that might have existed has consequently been undermined, the State has failed in its obligation under Article 13 of the Convention (see Khashiyev and Akayeva v. Russia, nos. 57942\/00 and 57945\/00, \u00a7 183, 24 February 2005).<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">81. Consequently, there has been a violation of Article 13 in conjunction with Articles 2 and 3 of the Convention related to the disappearance of Mr Balavdi Zhebrailov (see Aslakhanova and Others, cited above, \u00a7 157).<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">82. As regards the third applicant\u2019s reference to Article 3 in respect of his grievance concerning the ill-treatment, the Court refers to its above findings that the applicant had an arguable claim that he had been ill-treated by the representatives of the authorities and that the domestic investigation into that matter had been inadequate (see paragraphs 57 and 62 above). Consequently, any other remedy available to the applicant, including a claim for damages, had limited chances of success. While the civil courts have the capacity to make an independent assessment of fact, in practice, the weight attached to preliminary criminal enquiries is so important that even the most convincing evidence to the contrary furnished by a plaintiff would often be dismissed as \u201cirrelevant\u201d (see Gisayev v. Russia, no. 14811\/04, \u00a7 159, 20 January 2011, with further references).<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">83. The Court therefore finds that the third applicant was denied the right to an effective remedy under Article 13 of the Convention taken in conjunction with Article 3 of the Convention<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">84. As regards the applicants\u2019 reference to Article 5 of the Convention in respect of Mr Balavdi Zhebrailov and the third applicant, the Court reiterates that according to its established case-law the more specific guarantees of Article 5 \u00a7\u00a7 4 and 5, being a lex specialis in relation to Article 13, absorb its requirements and in view of its above findings of a violation of Article 5 of the Convention resulting unacknowledged detention, the Court considers that no separate issue arises in respect of Article 13 read in conjunction with Article 5 of the Convention in the circumstances of the present case (see Bantayeva and Others v. Russia, no. 20727\/04, \u00a7 121, 12 February 2009, and Gisayev, cited above, \u00a7 161).<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">V. APPLICATION OF ARTICLE 41 OF THE CONVENTION<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">85. Article 41 of the Convention provides:<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u201cIf the Court finds that there has been a violation of the Convention or the Protocols thereto, and if the internal law of the High Contracting Party concerned allows only partial reparation to be made, the Court shall, if necessary, afford just satisfaction to the injured party.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">A. Damage<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">86. The applicants made no claim in respect of pecuniary damage. As regards non-pecuniary damage, they submitted that, as a result of the alleged violations of Articles 2, 3, 5 and 13 of the Convention, they had endured mental and emotional suffering which could not be compensated for solely by the finding of a violation of those Convention provisions. They asked the Court to award them non-pecuniary damages, leaving the determination of its amount to the Court\u2019s discretion.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">87. The Government did not comment.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">88. The Court has found a violation of Articles 2, 5 and 13 of the Convention on account of the unacknowledged detention and disappearance of the applicants\u2019 son and brother. The applicants themselves have been found to have been victims of a violation of Article 3 of the Convention on account of the mental suffering they endured as a result of the disappearance of their relative and the authorities\u2019 attitude to that fact. A further violation of Article 3 of the Convention has been found on account of the third applicant\u2019s inhuman and degrading treatment and the inadequacy of the related investigation. The Court thus accepts that the applicants have suffered non-pecuniary damage which cannot be compensated for solely by the finding of violations. It finds it appropriate to award the applicants 60,000 euros (EUR) jointly and EUR 19,500 to the third applicant under this heading, plus any tax that may chargeable to them.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">B. Costs and expenses<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">89. The applicants were represented by lawyers from the NGO EHRAC\/Memorial Human Rights Centre. The aggregated claim in respect of costs and expenses related to the applicants\u2019 legal representation amounted to 1,863 pounds sterling (GBP), to be paid into the representatives\u2019 account in the United Kingdom. The amount claimed was broken down as follows:<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">(a) GBP 1,100 for nine hours of legal drafting of documents submitted to the Court at a rate of GBP 100 and 150 per hour;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">(b) GBP 633 for translation costs, and<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">(c) GBP 130 for administrative and postal costs.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">90. The Government submitted that the representation of the applicants \u2012 who lived in the Chechen Republic \u2012 by lawyers practising in London could not be considered necessary. They also claimed that there was no proof that the expenses in question had been actually paid.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">91. The Court must first establish whether the costs and expenses indicated by the applicant\u2019s representatives were actually incurred and, secondly, whether they were necessary (see McCann and Others v. the United Kingdom, 27 September 1995, \u00a7 220, Series A no. 324, and Fadeyeva v. Russia, no. 55723\/00, \u00a7 147, ECHR 2005 IV). In this connection it reiterates that an applicant is free to designate a legal representative of his or her own choosing, and whose country of residence may be different from that of the applicant (see, among other authorities, Kurt v. Turkey, 25 May 1998, \u00a7179, Reports of Judgments and Decisions 1998\u2011III). It is furthermore reiterated that the absence of any proof of payment does not necessarily result in the rejection of a claim for costs and expenses that is in itself well-founded (see S. v. Estonia, no. 17779\/08, \u00a7 55, 4 October 2011).<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">92. Having regard to the details of the information and the timesheets submitted by the applicants, the Court is satisfied that those rates are reasonable and reflect the expenses actually incurred by the applicants\u2019 representatives. Accordingly, it considers it appropriate to award the applicants\u2019 representatives the amount claimed \u2012 that is to say GBP 1,863 \u2012 in respect of costs and expenses, plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicants, the award to be paid into the representatives\u2019 bank account in the United Kingdom, as identified by the applicants.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">C. Default interest<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">93. The Court considers it appropriate that the default interest rate should be based on the marginal lending rate of the European Central Bank, to which should be added three percentage points.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">FOR THESE REASONS, THE COURT, UNANIMOUSLY,<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">1. Declares the application admissible;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">2. Holds that there has been a substantive violation of Article 2 of the Convention in respect of Mr Balavdi Zhebrailov;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">3. Holds that there has been a violation of Article 2 of the Convention in respect of the failure to conduct an effective investigation into the circumstances in which Mr Balavdi Zhebrailov disappeared;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">4. Holds that there has been a violation of Article 3 of the Convention in respect of the third applicant, on account of inhuman and degrading treatment inflicted upon him;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">5. Holds that there has been a violation of Article 3 of the Convention in respect of the failure to conduct an effective investigation into the allegations of inhuman and degrading treatment of the third applicant;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">6. Holds that there has been a violation of Article 3 of the Convention in respect of the applicants on account of their mental suffering;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">7. Holds that there has been a violation of Article 5 of the Convention in respect of Mr Balavdi Zhebrailov and the third applicant;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">8. Holds that there has been a violation of Article 13 of the Convention in conjunction with Articles 2 and 3 of the Convention in relation to the disappearance of Mr Balavdi Zhebrailov;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">9. Holds that there has been a violation of Article 13 of the Convention in conjunction with Article 3 of the Convention in respect of the third applicant;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">10. Holds that no separate issue arises under Article 13 of the Convention in conjunction with Article 5 of the Convention;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">11. Holds<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">(a) that the respondent State is to pay the applicants, within three months from the date on which the judgment becomes final in accordance with Article 44 \u00a7 2 of the Convention, the following amounts, to be converted into the currency of the respondent State at the rate applicable at the date of settlement, save in the case of the payment in respect of costs and expenses:<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">(i) EUR 60,000 (sixty thousand euros) to the applicants jointly and EUR 19,500 (nineteen thousand five hundred euros) to the third applicant, plus any tax that may be chargeable, in respect of non-pecuniary damage;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">(ii) GBP 1,863 (one thousand eight hundred and sixty three pounds), plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicants, in respect of costs and expenses, to be paid into the representatives\u2019 bank account in the United Kingdom;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">(b) that from the expiry of the above-mentioned three months until settlement simple interest shall be payable on the above amounts at a rate equal to the marginal lending rate of the European Central Bank during the default period plus three percentage points.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Done in English, and notified in writing on 26 March 2015, pursuant to Rule 77 \u00a7\u00a7 2 and 3 of the Rules of Court.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Andr\u00e9 Wampach &#8211; Isabelle Berro<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"> Deputy Registrar &#8211; President<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The ECHR case of Zhebrailova and Others v. Russia (application no. 40166\/07).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10891,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11949","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-echr-cases"],"views":297,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.waynakh.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11949","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.waynakh.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.waynakh.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.waynakh.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.waynakh.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11949"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.waynakh.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11949\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11950,"href":"https:\/\/www.waynakh.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11949\/revisions\/11950"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.waynakh.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10891"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.waynakh.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11949"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.waynakh.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11949"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.waynakh.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11949"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}