On December 16th the European Court of Human Rights has found Russia responsible for disappearance of two Chechen men during sweeping operations in 2002 and 2004, Russian Justice Initiative reports.

The applicants in Taymuskhanovy v. Russia are the mother and children of Ruslan Taymuskhanov who was abducted by Russian security forces on the morning of 30 December 2002. On that morning, Ruslan had been driving home with his mother and a police officer, when his car was stopped at a military checkpoint near Starye Atagi village. The servicemen ordered everyone to get out of the car, searched them, and tied the men’s hands behind their backs. The servicemen then loaded Ruslan and his passengers into a UAZ minivan which drove off in the direction of Grozny. Shortly leaving the checkpoint, Ruslan’s mother was pushed out of the minivan onto the road, as a result of which she lost consciousness for around five hours. At some point during the journey the police officer who had been in Ruslan’s car was also thrown out of the minivan. Ruslan, however, was never seen again.

The applicants in Tumayeva and Others v. Russia are the mother, wife, sisters and aunt of Shamkhan Tumayev who was abducted by Russian servicemen from the in the village of Valerik, Chechnya at the early morning hours of 19 September 2004. On that night Russian federal troops carried out a special sweep operation in the village which employed over 100 servicemen. Around twenty of them arrived at the Tumayev residence and ordered the applicants to open the door. The servicemen searched the house and seized several videotapes and a mobile phone. While the women were locked in one part of the house, the servicemen took Shamkhan away. According to neighbours who witnessed the detention, Shamkhan was beaten in the courtyard and then driven away in a UAZ vehicle. Three other residents of the same village were also apprehended that night.

The investigation into both disappearances produced no results.

In its unanimous judgments, the European Court found that:

— The right to life was violated in respect of Ruslan Taymuskhanov and Shamkhan Tumayev , into which no effective investigation has been conducted (Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights);

— The manner in which the applicants’ complaints were dealt with by the Russian authorities constituted inhuman treatment (Article 3);

— Ruslan Taymuskhanov and Shamkhan Tumayev were unlawfully deprived of their liberty (Article 5);

— The applicants did not have access to an effective remedy before the Russian authorities for the violations (Article 13 in conjunction with Article 2 of the Convention).

The applicants were awarded 142,000 euro in respect of material and moral damages. The applicants in both cases were assisted by the Russian Justice Initiative in bringing their complaints to the ECtHR.

On December the 21st the European Court of Human Rights has found Russia responsible for failing to conduct an effective investigation into the deaths of two teenage boys, who were killed by a stray missile in 2000, and for the disappearance of a Chechen man in 2004.

The applicants in Udayeva and Yusupova v. Russia are the mothers of Ali Udayev and Ramzan Yusupov who on 17 October 2000 were walking home from school near the town of Urus-Martan, Chechnya, when they were killed by an explosion caused by an artillery projectile. Witnesses reported hearing a projectile being fired from the direction of Michurino, where Russian troops were stationed, and hearing the subsequent explosion near the cemetery. The Government did not deny the fact of the boys’ death but argued that the missile had been fired by an illegal armed group, which had on that day been shelling the troops stationed in Michurino. Despite the almost complete lack of information or evidence submitted by the Government, the Court found there was not enough evidence to attribute the boys’ death to the Russian military.

The investigation into the death of Ali and Ramzan yielded no results. The Court found the investigation severely inadequate from the start, as investigators failed to collect any evidence from the crime scene (fragments of the weapon were collected and submitted to the authorities by the applicants) and subsequently the investigation failed to corroborate witness accounts or to question any servicemen stationed in Michurino, nor did they attempt to verify the possibility that the deaths had been caused by “incorrect use” of artillery by the Government.

The applicants in Dzhamayeva and Others v. Russia are the mother, wife and children of Khamid Mukayev, who was abducted by Russian servicemen from his family home in Katyr-Yurt, Chechnya, during an unacknowledged security operation in September 2004. The investigation into Khamid’s disappearance produced no results.

In its unanimous judgments, the European Court found that:

— The right to life was violated in respect of Khamid Mukayev, who must be presumed dead, into which no effective investigation was conducted (Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights);

— The Russian authorities have failed to conduct an effective investigation into the deaths of Ali Udayev and Ramzan Yusupov (Article 2);

— The manner in which the applicants’ complaints were dealt with by the Russian authorities in Dzhamayeva and others constituted inhuman treatment [Article 3];

— Khamid Mukayev was unlawfully deprived of his liberty (Article 5);

— The applicants in Dzhamayeva and others did not have access to an effective remedy before the Russian authorities for the violations (Article 13 in conjunction with Article 2 of the Convention).

The applicants were awarded 126,000 euro in respect of material and moral damages. The applicants in Udayeva and Yusupova were assisted by the Russian Justice Initiative in bringing their case to the ECtHR. Dokka Itslaev, a lawyer practicing in Chechnya, represented the applicants in Dzhamayeva and Others.

Russian Justice Initiative