Академический Документы
Профессиональный Документы
Культура Документы
2011
Principal facts
The applicant, Abdulbek Tashukhadzhiyev, is a Russian national who was born in 1936 and currently lives in Shali (Chechen Republic, Russia). His then 26-year-old son, Elbek Tashukhadzhiyev, was working as a petrol tanker driver when he was stopped and detained in February 1996 by a group of military servicemen near the village of Berkat-Yurt in Chechnya; he has not been seen since. On the day after his sons disappearance, Abdulbek Tashukhadzhiyev started a search for him. He was informed by the commander of an air force squadron stationed in the area that a group of military intelligence officers had detained his son and had taken him away in a vehicle. According to Mr Tashukhadzhiyevs submissions, his sons lorry was found some time later being used by military servicemen. The Russian Government did not challenge most of the facts as presented by Mr Tashukhadzhiyev, but they submitted that Elbek Tashukhadzhiyev was detained because a grenade launcher had been found in his vehicle. In March 1996, the military prosecutors office instituted a criminal investigation into the disappearance. In the course of the investigation, the commanding major of the intelligence unit submitted that, detained by his unit, Elbek Tashukhadzhiyev had jumped out of the car, had run away, and had then been shot and left in the forest. However, the major later changed his statement, submitting that Elbek Tashukhadzhiyev had run away and had not been seen since. In September 1996, the criminal investigation was terminated for lack of evidence. It was reopened in April 1998, without Abdulbek Tashukhadzhiyev being informed. The authorities subsequently terminated and reopened the investigation on a number of occasions without informing Mr Tashukhadzhiyev in a timely manner. They have failed to establish Elbek Tashukhadzhiyevs whereabouts.
1 Under Articles 43 and 44 of the Convention, this Chamber judgment is not final. During the three-month period following its delivery, any party may request that the case be referred to the Grand Chamber of the Court. If such a request is made, a panel of five judges considers whether the case deserves further examination. In that event, the Grand Chamber will hear the case and deliver a final judgment. If the referral request is refused, the Chamber judgment will become final on that day. Once a judgment becomes final, it is transmitted to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe for supervision of its execution. Further information about the execution process can be found here: www.coe.int/t/dghl/monitoring/execution
According to the Russian Government, the investigation is still in progress. Despite specific requests by the European Court of Human Rights, the Government did not disclose any documents from the case file, stating that the investigation was pending and the file contained confidential information.
Article 5
It was not disputed that Elbek Tashukhadzhiyev had been arrested by military servicemen and had subsequently disappeared. The authorities had acknowledged his arrest, but they had not provided any documentary evidence giving traces of his whereabouts afterwards. The Court pointed out that the procedural safeguards applicable to a persons detention had been disregarded. While there was no evidence that Elbek Tashukhadzhiyev had still been in detention in the period under the Courts consideration after the entry into force of the Convention in respect of Russia in 1998 - it remained incumbent on the domestic authorities to show that they had since carried out an effective investigation into the arguable claim that he had been taken into custody and had not been seen subsequently. The Courts findings in relation to Article 2 left no doubt that the authorities had also failed to conduct the necessary investigation in regard to his arrest and detention, in violation of Article 5.
Article 41
Under Article 41 (just satisfaction) of the Convention, the Court held that Russia was to pay Abdulbek Tashukhadzhiyev 30,000 euros (EUR) in respect of non-pecuniary damage.
Separate opinion
Judge Kovler expressed a partly dissenting opinion, which is annexed to the judgment. The judgment is available only in English. This press release is a document produced by the Registry. It does not bind the Court. Decisions, judgments and further information about the Court can be found on www.echr.coe.int. To receive the Courts press releases, please subscribe to the Courts RSS feeds.
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