The ECHR cases of Khalitova and Others v. Russia(application no. 33264\/04) and Khasuyeva v. Russia (application no.28159\/03).<\/p>\n
..<\/span><\/p>\n \n \u2026<\/span><\/p>\n .<\/span><\/p>\n EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n 460<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n 11.06.09<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Press release issued by the Registrar<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Two Chamber Judgments in respect of Russia<\/span> The European Court of Human Rights has today notified in writing the following two Chamber judgments concerning Russia, neither of which is final. The applicants alleged in particular that their relatives disappeared after being detained by Russian servicemen and that the domestic authorities failed to carry out an effective investigation into their allegations. They relied, in particular, on Articles\u00a02 (right to life), 3 (prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment), 5 (right to liberty and security) and\u00a013 (right to an effective remedy). <\/span><\/p>\n 1.\u00a0Khalitova and Others v. Russia<\/span> (application no. 33264\/04<\/span>)<\/span><\/p>\n The applicants in this case are four Russian nationals who live in the Groznenskiy District (Chechen Republic). The first applicant\u2019s husband, Ali Uspayev, and her son, Amir Magomedov, were seen for the last time in the early hours of 18\u00a0July 2001, when they were taken from the family home by a group of armed men wearing camouflage uniforms. The second and third applicants are the sister and wife of Aslan Dokayev, and the fourth applicant is the father of Rustam Achkhanov; the two men have not been seen since early in the morning of 18\u00a0July 2001 when, according to the applicants, the car in which their relatives were travelling came under fire from servicemen. Aslan and Rustam, wounded, were loaded into an armoured military vehicle; they have not been seen since. The Government, although accepting that a special military operation had been carried out in the applicants\u2019 district on 18\u00a0July 2001, denied that Aslan and Rustam were shot; they submitted that the two men escaped and have since been missing.<\/span><\/p>\n Violations of Article 2 (right to life) on account of the deaths of Ali Uspayev, Amir Magomedov, Aslan Dokayev and Rustam Achkhanov and the absence of an effective investigation into their disappearance.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Violation of Article 3 (prohibition of inhuman treatment) on account of the mental suffering endured by the applicants.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Violation of Article 5 (right to liberty and security) on account of the unacknowledged detention of the four men.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Violation of Article 13 (right to an effective remedy) taken in conjunction with Article 2.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n In respect of non-pecuniary damage, the Court made awards of 40,000\u00a0euros\u00a0(EUR) to the first applicant and EUR\u00a020,000 to each of the other three applicants. EUR\u00a04,500 was awarded in total for pecuniary damage.<\/span><\/p>\n 2.\u00a0Khasuyeva v. Russia <\/span>(no. 28159\/03<\/span>)<\/span><\/p>\n The applicant in this case is a Russian national who lives in Urus-Martan (Chechen Republic). She is the mother of Abu Khasuyev, born in 1978, who has not been seen since the early afternoon of 30\u00a0August 2001 when he was abducted from the family home by a group of about ten masked, armed men in camouflage uniforms. Abu Khasuyev\u2019s wife, present at the scene of the abduction with her baby daughter, claimed that the men who broke into the family\u2019s flat, situated at that time near to a Russian military checkpoint, spoke unaccented Russian and drove her husband away in a vehicle with tinted windows and no registration plate. The applicant\u2019s neighbours corroborated that version of events. The official investigation into the disappearance established that there were sufficient grounds to assume that a special operation had been carried out in respect of the applicant\u2019s son during which armoured vehicles had been used. The Government submitted that, the investigation still in progress, Abu Khasuyev\u2019s abductors had not yet been identified.<\/span><\/p>\n Violations of Article 2 (right to life) on account of the death of Abu Khasuyev and the lack of an effective investigation into his disappearance.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Violation of Article 3 (prohibition of inhuman treatment) on account of the mental suffering endured by the applicant.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Violation of Article 5 (right to liberty and security) on account of the unacknowledged detention of the applicant\u2019s son.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Violation of Article 13 (right to an effective remedy) taken in conjunction with Article 2.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n The Court awarded the applicant EUR\u00a012,000 for pecuniary damage, EUR\u00a035,000 for non-pecuniary damage and EUR\u00a08,093 for costs and expenses.<\/span><\/p>\n CASE OF KHALITOVA AND OTHERS v. RUSSIA<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n (Application no. 33264\/04)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n JUDGMENT<\/span><\/p>\n STRASBOURG<\/span><\/p>\n 11 June 2009<\/span><\/p>\n This judgment will become final in the circumstances set out in Article\u00a044 \u00a7\u00a02 of the Convention. It may be subject to editorial revision.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n In the case of Khalitova and Others v. Russia,<\/span><\/p>\n The European Court of Human Rights (First Section), sitting as a Chamber composed of:<\/span><\/p>\n Christos Rozakis, President, Having deliberated in private on 19 May 2009,<\/span><\/p>\n Delivers the following judgment, which was adopted on that date:<\/span><\/p>\n PROCEDURE<\/span><\/p>\n 1.\u00a0\u00a0The case originated in an application (no. 33264\/04) 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 four Russian nationals listed below (\u201cthe applicants\u201d), on 7 September 2004.<\/span><\/p>\n 2.\u00a0\u00a0The applicants, who had been granted legal aid, were represented by lawyers of the International Protection Centre, an NGO based in Moscow. The Russian Government (\u201cthe Government\u201d) were represented by Ms\u00a0V.\u00a0Milinchuk, former Representative of the Russian Federation at the European Court of Human Rights.<\/span><\/p>\n 3.\u00a0\u00a0On 1 September 2005 the Court decided to apply Rule\u00a041 of the Rules of Court.<\/span><\/p>\n 4.\u00a0\u00a0On 26 March 2007 the Court decided to give notice of the application to the Government. Under the provisions of Article 29 \u00a7 3 of the Convention, it decided to examine the merits of the application at the same time as its admissibility.<\/span><\/p>\n 5.\u00a0\u00a0The Government objected to the joint examination of the admissibility and merits of the application. Having considered the Government’s objection, the Court dismissed it.<\/span><\/p>\n THE FACTS<\/span><\/p>\n I.\u00a0\u00a0THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE CASE<\/span><\/p>\n 6.\u00a0\u00a0The applicants are:<\/span><\/p>\n 1) Ms Nebist Khalitova, born in 1959;<\/span><\/p>\n 2) Ms Zarema Almurzayeva, born in 1971;<\/span><\/p>\n 3) Ms Zalina Chapayeva, born in 1982; and<\/span><\/p>\n 4) Mr Maulat Achkhanov, born in 1929.<\/span><\/p>\n The first applicant lives in the village of Raduzhnoe. The second, third and fourth applicants live in the village of Pobedinskoe. The two villages are located a short distance one from another in the Groznenskiy District of the Chechen Republic.<\/span><\/p>\n 7.\u00a0\u00a0The first applicant is the wife of Mr Ali Uspayev and the mother of Mr\u00a0Amir Magomedov. The second applicant is the sister of Mr Aslan Dokayev. Aslan Dokayev was married to the third applicant. The fourth applicant is the father of Mr Rustam Achkhanov.<\/span><\/p>\n A.\u00a0\u00a0Disappearance of Amir Magomedov, Ali Uspayev, Aslan Dokayev and Rustam Achkhanov<\/span><\/p>\n 1.\u00a0\u00a0The applicants’ account<\/span><\/p>\n (a)\u00a0\u00a0Amir Magomedov and <\/a><\/a> Ali Uspayev<\/span><\/p>\n 8.\u00a0\u00a0On the night of 18 July 2001 the first applicant, her son and husband were sleeping in their house in Raduzhnoe. At about 5 a.m. around thirty unidentified armed men wearing camouflage uniforms broke into it. The men did not identify themselves. They had Slavic features and spoke Russian without an accent.<\/span><\/p>\n 9.\u00a0\u00a0The first applicant looked out of the window and saw the armed men dragging Amir Magomedov, who had his legs in a plaster cast because of a previous trauma, to the gates. Ali Uspayev was lying on the ground in the courtyard with his arms handcuffed behind his back. Then one of the armed men hit the first applicant with a rifle butt and she lost consciousness. Having recovered a few minutes later, she saw that everyone had left the house.<\/span><\/p>\n 10.\u00a0\u00a0According to her neighbours who witnessed the events, the armed men loaded Amir Magomedov and Ali Uspayev into one of two armoured personnel carriers (\u201cAPCs\u201d) parked next to the first applicant’s house and drove away. Outside the village the two vehicles were joined by two more APCs.<\/span><\/p>\n (b)\u00a0\u00a0Aslan Dokayev and Rustam Achkhanov<\/span><\/p>\n 11.\u00a0On the morning of 18 July 2001 Rustam Achkhanov was driving his VAZ 2106 car. He was accompanied by his acquaintance, Aslan Dokayev.<\/span><\/p>\n 12.\u00a0\u00a0At about 6 a.m., when they reached the village of Raduzhnoe, unidentified armed men in four APCs without registration numbers opened fire in the direction of the VAZ 2106 car. Aslan Dokayev and Rustam Achkhanov got out of the car and started running. The armed men continued shooting, wounded Aslan Dokayev and Rustam Achkhanov and loaded them into one of the APCs. Then they took the music player and some other valuable items from the VAZ 2106 car, poured petrol over it and then set it on fire. The car blew up. The four APCs drove away.<\/span><\/p>\n 13.\u00a0\u00a0The second, third and fourth applicants did not see their relatives being taken away and obtained the description of the events from inhabitants of Raduzhnoe.<\/span><\/p>\n 2.\u00a0\u00a0Information submitted by the Government<\/span><\/p>\n <\/a>14.\u00a0\u00a0On 18 July 2001 units of the federal troops and the Internal Troops of the Russian Ministry of the Interior carried out a special operation in the village of Pobedinskoe with a view to arresting members of illegal armed groups and prosecuting them in accordance with the law in force. The servicemen of the Internal Troops had a right to carry and use arms when ensuring peace and order. Residents of the Chechen Republic were advised by officials to abstain from using cars or other vehicles at night because of the unlawful activities of illegal armed groups and the counter-attacks of federal troops.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/a>15.\u00a0\u00a0At about 5 a.m. on 18 July 2001 Aslan Dokayev and Rustam Achkhanov were travelling in a VAZ 2106 car in the direction of the village of Pobedinskoe. At some point near the bridge on the Alkhanchurskiy canal servicemen participating in the counter-terrorism campaign flagged down the VAZ 2106 car. The servicemen intended to check the identities of those travelling in the car. Rustam Achkhanov stopped the car within seventy metres of the servicemen; Aslan Dokayev and Rustam Achkhanov left the car and started running. The servicemen fired warning shots in the air. The two men ignored the shots and continued running in the direction of civilians’ houses in the village of Raduzhnoe. Aslan Dokayev and Rustam Achkhanov escaped the scene and their whereabouts were not established. The servicemen examined the VAZ\u00a02106 car and the surrounding area. They found a RPG-26 hand-held grenade launcher (\u00ab\u0440\u0443\u0447\u043d\u043e\u0439 \u0433\u0440\u0430\u043d\u0430\u0442\u043e\u043c\u0435\u0442 \u0420\u041f\u0413-26 \u00ab\u041c\u0443\u0445\u0430\u00bb\u00bb<\/span>) lying next to the car and two shells for a RPG-7 hand-held grenade launcher (\u00ab\u0440\u0443\u0447\u043d\u043e\u0439 \u0433\u0440\u0430\u043d\u0430\u0442\u043e\u043c\u0435\u0442 \u0420\u041f\u0413-7\u00bb<\/span>) in the car boot.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/a>16.\u00a0\u00a0At about 5 a.m. on 18 July 2001 unidentified persons in camouflage uniforms abducted Amir Magomedov and Ali Uspayev in the village of Raduzhnoe. The whereabouts of the two men were not established.<\/span><\/p>\n B.\u00a0\u00a0The search for Amir Magomedov, Ali Uspayev, Aslan Dokayev and Rustam Achkhanov and the investigation<\/span><\/p>\n 1.\u00a0\u00a0The applicants’ account<\/span><\/p>\n <\/a>17.\u00a0\u00a0On 18 July 2001, shortly after Aslan Dokayev and Rustam Achkhanov were taken away, the second applicant discovered that Amir Magomedov and Ali Uspayev had been abducted as well. She was also told that the four APCs had headed to Solenaya Balka area where the 21st<\/sup> brigade of the Russian federal troops (\u201cthe Sophrino brigade\u201d) was stationed. The second applicant immediately communicated that information to the military commander’s office of the Groznenskiy District, the Groznenskiy district department of the interior and the prosecutor’s office of the Groznenskiy District (\u201cthe district prosecutor’s office\u201d). Some officials visited the headquarters of the Sophrino brigade and were informed that its officers had not been implicated in the abductions.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/a>18.\u00a0\u00a0On 18 July 2001 officials from a prosecutor’s office visited the first applicant and questioned her about the circumstances of the abduction of her son and husband.<\/span><\/p>\n 19.\u00a0\u00a0After 18 July 2001 the applicants repeatedly contacted various official bodies, both in person and in writing. In particular, they applied to prosecutors’ offices at different levels, the Administration of the Chechen Republic, the Russian State Duma and the Special Envoy of the Russian President in Chechnya for Rights and Freedoms. The applicants retained copies of some of these complaints and submitted them to the Court. The official bodies forwarded the majority of the complaints to the various prosecutors’ offices for investigation.<\/span><\/p>\n 20.\u00a0\u00a0On 18 July 2001 the district prosecutor’s office instituted an investigation into the murder of Aslan Dokayev and Rustam Achkhanov under Article 105 \u00a7 2 of the Russian Criminal Code (aggravated murder). The case file was given the number 19109.<\/span><\/p>\n 21.\u00a0\u00a0On 20 July 2001 the investigation file in case no. 19109 was forwarded to the military prosecutor’s office of military unit no. 20102 (\u201cthe unit prosecutor’s office\u201d). It appears that the case was then assigned the number 14\/33\/0405-01.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/a>22.\u00a0\u00a0On 1 August 2001 the second applicant wrote to the prosecutor’s office of the Chechen Republic describing in detail the circumstances of the abduction of Aslan Dokayev and Rustam Achkhanov and asking for help in establishing their whereabouts.<\/span><\/p>\n 23.\u00a0\u00a0On 2 August 2001 the unit prosecutor’s office summoned the second applicant for an interview.<\/span><\/p>\n 24.\u00a0\u00a0On 13 August 2001 the unit prosecutor’s office transferred the investigation file in case no. 14\/33\/0405-01 to the military prosecutor’s office of the North Caucasian Circuit (\u201cthe circuit prosecutor’s office\u201d).<\/span><\/p>\n 25.\u00a0\u00a0On 16 August 2001 the unit prosecutor’s office sent a request to the temporary department of the interior of the Staropromyslovskiy District (\u201cthe VOVD\u201d), which stated that on 18 July 2001 a group of servicemen commanded by an officer of the Federal Security Service (\u201cthe FSB\u201d) had shot Aslan Dokayev and Rustam Achkhanov during an attempt to escape arrest and that their corpses had been transported by the APCs. The VOVD was instructed to verify whether the bodies of Aslan Dokayev and Rustam Achkhanov were among any unidentified corpses.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/a>26.\u00a0\u00a0On 29 November 2001 the district prosecutor’s office forwarded the second and fourth applicants’ complaints to the unit prosecutor’s office.<\/span><\/p>\n 27.\u00a0\u00a0On 30 November 2001 the prosecutor’s office of the Chechen Republic forwarded the fourth applicant’s complaint to the district prosecutor’s office.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/a>28.\u00a0\u00a0On 14 December 2001 the unit prosecutor’s office forwarded the fourth applicant’s letter to the circuit prosecutor’s office to be included in the investigation file in case no. 14\/33\/0405-01.<\/span><\/p>\n 29.\u00a0\u00a0On 18 June 2002 the circuit prosecutor’s office suspended the investigation in case no. 14\/00\/0019-01 for failure to identify the perpetrators.<\/span><\/p>\n 30.\u00a0\u00a0On 13 November 2002 the second applicant complained to the prosecutor’s office of the Chechen Republic that there had been no progress in the investigation in case no. 14\/33\/0405-01 and asked for assistance in establishing her brother’s whereabouts.<\/span><\/p>\n 31.\u00a0\u00a0On 17 July 2003 the district prosecutor’s office issued the third applicant with a progress report on case no. 19109 which stated that the investigation had been opened on 18 July 2001 and that on 20 July 2001 the investigation file had been transferred to the unit prosecutor’s office.<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/span><\/p>\n
\nconcerning disappearances in Chechnya <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/span> Nina Vaji\u0107,
\n<\/span> Anatoly Kovler,
\n<\/span> Elisabeth Steiner,
\n<\/span> Khanlar Hajiyev,
\n<\/span> Dean Spielmann,
\n<\/span> Sverre Erik Jebens, judges,
\n<\/span>and S\u00f8ren Nielsen, Section Registrar<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/p>\n