Cases 741 - 760 of 766

Khatsiyeva and Others v. Russia, (5108/02)

Judgement date: 17/01/2008
Date of violations: 06/08/2000
Admissible: 23/10/2006
Location: Ingushetia, Arshty
Representative: SRJI
Violation: Extra-judicial execution

Around noon on 6 August 2000 a Russian military helicopter opened fire at a group of men who were mowing grass in the hills near the Ingush village of Arshty (just across the border with Chechnya) without apparent reason. Khalid Khatsiyev and Kazbek Akiyev were both killed in the attack. An investigation into the killings was closed on the ground that the order to use lethal force had been justified in the circumstances of the case.  

 

Zubayrayev v. Russia, (67797/01)

Judgement date: 10/01/2008
Lodged: 09/03/2001
Date of violations: 17/09/2000
Location: Chechnya, Starye Atagi
Representative: No representative
Violation: Extra-judicial execution

In the early hours of the night on 17 September 2000 the Zubayrayev family was woken up by loud screams. A large group of men dressed in camouflage, some of them masked, entered the house and forced all the inhabitants outside. They were not allowed to dress and no reasons were given for the intervention. The inhabitants of the house were lined up in the courtyard facing the wall and their passports were collected. When the men left, they locked the women in the house and took Salaudi Zubayrayev with them. When the family managed to break out of the house, they found Salaudi about 100- 200 metres away from the house. He was shot in the back of his head from an automatic rifle. Four other persons were killed in similar circumstances in Starye Atagi that night.

 

Tangiyeva v. Russia, (57935/00)

Judgement date: 29/11/2007
Date of violations: 11/01/2000
Admissible: 18/05/2006
Location: Chechnya, City of Grozny, Staropromyslovsky district
Representative: EHRAC/Memorial
Violation: Extra-judicial execution

In October 1999, hostilities resumed in Chechnya and Grozny came under heavy bombardment. Zaynap Tangiyeva and her family remained in their house in Grozny where they hid in the cellar. In December, the shelling intensified and several persons, including Tangiyeva, moved to a safer cellar. Her father, Abdul-Vagap Tangiyev, her mother, Khirzan Gadaborsheva, her uncle, Ismail Gadaborshev, and a neighbour stayed in the house to look after the property. Tangiyeva checked on them every day. On 10 January 2000 she asked the OMON officers stationed at the street to not shoot at the old persons staying in the house. On 11 January 2000 Tangiyeva found the house on fire. As she forced herself inside she discovered the body of her father and that of their neighbour. They had both been shot. Her mother and uncle were also found dead inside the house. The criminal investigation into the killings has not been meaningful.

 

Pukhigova v. Russia, (15440/05)

Communicated: 21/11/2007
Lodged: 10/02/2005
Date of violations: 12/02/2001
Location: Chechnya, Village of Goyty
Representative: No representative
Violation: Disappearance

At about 2.00 a.m. on 12 February 2001 an armoured personnel carrier (“APC”) and several UAZ vehicles arrived at the house of the Abdulazizov family in the village of Goyty. Around twenty armed men got off the vehicles and burst inside. They apprehended Salman Abdulazizov and took him away. He has been missing since. The investigation into his disappearance has not been meaningful.

 

Khamidov v. Russia, (72118/01)

Judgement date: 15/11/2007
Lodged: 28/06/2001
Date of violations: 13/10/1999
Admissible: 23/10/2006
Location: Chechnya
Representative: EHRAC/Memorial
Violation: Property

In Khamidov v. Russia the Court held that the Russian authorities had violated Khanbatay Khamidov's right to private life (Article 8) and right to property (Article 1, Protocol 1) when a police unit occupied and damaged his property in Chechnya between 1999 and 2002. In addition, the Court held that Khamidov's right to a fair trial was violated when he attempted to seek redress for the illegal occupation and damage of his property (Article 6).

 

Khamila Isayeva v. Russia, (6846/02)

Judgement date: 15/11/2007
Date of violations: 29/04/2001
Admissible: 24/10/2006
Location: Chechnya, Alkhan-Kala
Representative: SRJI
Violation: Disappearance

On 29 April 2001  Russian troops conducted a sweep operation in Alkhan-Kala. In the course of the operation they detained eleven men including Sultan Isayev who subsequently disappeared. Isayev's wife, Khamila Isaeva, has since sought to establish the whereabouts of her husband but to no avail.

 

Kukayev v. Russia, (29361/02)

Judgement date: 15/11/2007
Date of violations: 26/11/2000
Admissible: 23/10/2006
Location: Chechnya, City of Grozny
Representative: EHRAC/Memorial
Violation: Disappearance
Extra-judicial execution

On 26 November 2000, Aslanbek Kukayev, a Chechen OMON officer, was detained along with other policemen of Chechen origin during a "sweeping-up" operation conducted by Russian military forces at Grozny central market. Some of the policemen were released later that day, whereas Kukayev disappeared after being apprehended. On 22 April 2001, two corpses bearing signs of a violent death were found in a basement located close to the spot where Kukayev was last seen alive. One of the bodies was identified as Aslanbek Kukayev. The criminal investigation into his death has not produced any results.

 

Medov v. Russia, (1573/02)

Judgement date: 08/11/2007
Date of violations: 23/01/2000
Admissible: 07/09/2006
Location: Chechnya, Chernokozovo
Representative: SRJI
Violation: Torture

Medov v. Russia On 23 January 2000, servicemen from the Russian Ministry of the Interior detained Suleyman Medov and seven other men in the Staropromyslovsky district in the city of Grozny, Chechnya. Medov was initally brought to a nearby military encampment and later transferred to Chernokozovo detention centre and detention centres in Mozdok, Pyatigorsk and Stavropol. Medov was finally released on 3 May 2000 and criminal proceedings against him were dropped, officially under a 1999 amnesty. In his application to the ECHR, Medov complained about the conditions of detention, that he had been tortured during his detention, and that the Russian authorities had failed to properly investigation his allegations of torture.

 

Makhauri v. Russia, (58701/00)

Judgement date: 04/10/2007
Date of violations: 22/01/2000
Admissible: 18/05/2006
Location: Chechnya, City of Grozny, Staropromyslovsky district
Representative: EHRAC/Memorial
Violation: Extra-judicial execution

On 22 January 2000, Kheyedi Makhauri returned to the Staropromyslovskiy district in Grozny with two other women, Larisa and Nura. They had decided to return after having watched a Russian TV channel broadcast the news that the federal forces had full control of their settlement, and that it was hence safe to return. The women wanted to check on the houses that they had left behind. Turning a street corner, they came across a large group of soldiers who were taking valuables out of the houses and stacking them into armoured personnel carriers. The soldiers stopped the women, covered their eyes and escorted them into a courtyard. Two soldiers suddenly started to shoot at them with machine guns. Makhauri lost consciousness. When she woke up, she had lost a lot of blood. A bullet had entered her arm and exited her neck. Larisa and Nura were both dead, killed by several gunshots. The official investigation has not produced any conclusive results.

 

Goncharuk v. Russia, (58643/00)

Judgement date: 04/10/2007
Date of violations: 19/01/2000
Admissible: 18/05/2006
Location: Chechnya, City of Grozny, Staropromyslovsky district
Representative: EHRAC/Memorial
Violation: Extra-judicial execution

On 19 January 2000, the federal forces carried out a massive attack on the Staropromyslovskiy district in Grozny. Yelena Goncharuk and five other persons hid in a cellar to avoid the shelling. When the shelling subsided, several military servicemen ordered them out of the cellar. The soldiers told them that they should be killed and subsequently commanded them back into their hiding place. Shortly thereafter, tear-gas grenades were thrown into the cellar. The six persons were then asked to come out again one by one. As they did, the soldiers shot at them with machine guns. Goncharuk lost consciousness. When she awoke, she discovered that the others were dead. She had gunshot wounds in her legs and chest, and later had to undergo surgery. An official investigation into the summary executions was opened but it has not been meaningful.

 

Goygova v. Russia, (74240/01)

Judgement date: 04/10/2007
Date of violations: 19/01/2000
Admissible: 18/05/2006
Location: Chechnya, City of Grozny, Staropromyslovsky district
Representative: SRJI
Violation: Extra-judicial execution

Goygova v. Russia When the applicant's mother was wounded by shrapnel in the Staropromyslovsky district in the city of Grozny on 19 January 2000, three men including the applicant's brother tried to take her out of Grozny in a wheel barrow. A witness saw the three men with the wheel barrow being stopped by Russian military servicemen. Without warning a serviceman shot the applicant's mother in the head and the three men were taken away. Their bodies were discovered in garage nearby on 10 February. The bodies had numerous gunshot wounds. Russian prosecutors opened a criminal investigation into the summary executions, but the investigation has not been meaningful. <br><br>The two men detained together with the applicant's brother were Khamid Khashiyev and Rizvan Taymeskhanov. The European Court of Human Rights held Russia responsible for their deaths in the case Khashiyev and Akayeva v. Russia, (57942/00 and 57945/00). <br><br>Dozens of people were killed in the Staropromyslovsky district in the relevant period. The following cases are also related: Goncharuk v. Russia (58643/00), Makhauri v. Russia, (58701/00), Tangiyeva v. Russia, (57941/00, 58699/00, and 60403/00).

 

Musayeva and Others v. Russia, (74239/01)

Judgement date: 26/07/2007
Lodged: 20/09/2001
Date of violations: 08/08/2000
Admissible: 01/06/2006
Location: Chechnya, Urus-Martan
Representative: Others
Violation: Extra-judicial execution

On 8 August 2000 a Russian armoured personnel carrier (APC) was attacked and blown up in the vicinity of Gekhi and the military responded with a "sweeping" operation in the village. During this operation, an armed man entered the Musayev family's house and the military strafed the house using machine-guns and grenade launchers. After the armed man was killed, the military detained and took with them Ali and Umar Musayev. On 13 September 2000, the relatives discovered the remains of Ali and Umar together with two other men in a mass grave indicated to them by military servicemen. All the bodies bore signs of violent death. Multiple injuries and stab wounds on Umar's body showed that he had been tortured. The authorities admit to having detained the brothers, but claim that they were later released. The authorities know the hull number of the APC that was used in the operation and they know what military units took part. However, the investigation has failed to identify who detained and subsequently killed the Musayev brothers.

 

Musayev and Others v. Russia, (57941/00, 58699/00, 60403/00)

Judgement date: 26/07/2007
Date of violations: 05/02/2000
Admissible: 13/12/2005
Location: Chechnya, Novye Aldy
Representative: EHRAC/Memorial
Violation: Extra-judicial execution

On 5 February 2000 Russian forces began a "mopping-up" operation in the district of Novye Aldy in Grozny. In the course of the operation dozens of civilians were killed and numerous houses were burnt down. The three applications, which the Court joined into one case, concern the killing of 11 people that day: Yusup Musayev witnessed seven of his relatives being killed in Novye Aldy. Suleyman Magomadov and Tamara Magomodova who had fled the hostilities later found out that Magodev's two brothers, one of them married to Magomodova, had both been shot to death. Khasan Abdulmazhidov and Malika Labazanova, husband and wife, witnessed the execution of Abdulmazhidov's sister and brother. The servicemen set their house and barn on fire before they left. The criminal investigation into the extra-judicial excecutions has not produced any tangible results.<p> On 12 October 2006, the European Court of Human Rights delivered its judgment in the case <a href=http://www.srji.org/cases.html#Estamirov%20and%20Others%20v.%20Russia target=_blank>Estamirov and Others v. Russia</a>, holding the Russian government reponsible for the extra-judicial execution of five family members of the Estamirov family in Novy Aldy on the same day.

 

Magomadov and Magomadov v. Russia, (68004/01)

Judgement date: 12/07/2007
Date of violations: 02/10/2000
Admissible: 24/11/2005
Location: Chechnya, Village of Kurchaloy
Representative: EHRAC/Memorial
Violation: Disappearance

On 2 October 2000 an armed unit of the Federal Service Agency arrived at the Magomadov's house in the village of Kurchaloy. Ayubkhan Magomadov was arrested and driven away. He has not been seen since. His family immediately complained about his disappearance to several state agencies. A criminal investigation was opened but it failed to identify his whereabouts or the persons responsible for his abduction. In April 2004, Ayubkhan's brother, Yakub Magomadov, was in Moscow. On 19 April, he contaced his relatives for the last time. A month later, his family received a note from him saying that he was detained in the Russian military base in Khankala. However, the Russian authorities deny that they have had anything to do with his disappearance. The criminal investigation into his case has not produced any results.

 

Alikhadzhiyeva v. Russia, (68007/01)

Judgement date: 05/07/2007
Date of violations: 17/05/2000
Admissible: 08/12/2005
Location: Chechnya, Town of Shali
Representative: EHRAC/Memorial
Violation: Disappearance

On 17 May 2000 at 11.15 a.m. several armoured personnel carriers (APCs) of the Russian forces surrounded the house of Ruslan Alikhadzehiyev, speaker of the Chechen parliament from 1997 to 1999, while two helicopters hovered above the district. Around twenty armed men in camouflage uniforms entered the house. They handcuffed Alikhadzehiyev, took him to one of the APCs and drove away towards Grozny. Five of his neighbours were abducted together with him. At their subsequent release they stated that they had been blindfolded and questioned about Alikhadzehiyev. Alikhadzehiyev was separated from the other men in detention. Alikhadzehiyev's family has had no news from him since. The official investigation into his case did not produce any results, it was adjourned in 2004 as no perpetrators could be identified.

 

Bitiyeva and X v. Russia, (57953/00, 37392/03)

Judgement date: 21/06/2007
Date of violations: 21/05/2003
Admissible: 20/10/2005
Location: Chechnya, Naursky district, Kalinovskaya
Representative: EHRAC/Memorial
Violation: Extra-judicial execution

At around 3.30 a.m. on 21 May 2003 a group of armed men, by witnesses recognized as the special forces, entered the house of Zura Bitiyeva in Kalinovskaya. Within minutes, several sounds of muffled blows were heard. Bitiyeva's son later found the bodies of his mother, father, brother, and uncle inside the house. The criminal investigation into the killings failed to follow leads to identify the perpetrators. Full autopsies on the bodies were never conducted. The investigation was further adjourned and reopened on several occasions over the years.      

Before she was killed, Bitiyeva had lodged a complaint with the ECHR concerning ill-treatment in detention. The complaint referred to events in January and February 2000 when she, as well as her son, were detained at the Chernokozovo detention facility. Her detention was never linked to any criminal investigation. In detention, she was kept in a small cell with many other women. They did not recieve any medical attention. Bitiyeva witnessed how other detainees were beaten and humiliated and could sometimes hear her son's screams when he was beaten outside her cell. NGO reports and statements from the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture support the allegations of ill-treatment in Chernokozovo. The Russian authorities has not investigated the allegations, nor taken steps to provide redress to Bitiyeva and other detainees.

 

Akhmadova and Sadulayeva v. Russia, (40464/02)

Judgement date: 10/05/2007
Date of violations: 12/03/2001
Location: Chechnya, Argun
Representative: SRJI
Violation: Disappearance

During a March 2001 sweep operation in Argun, Russian federal forces detained Shamil Akhmadov, along with at least ten other men. Although the dead bodies of four of the men were found days later outside the Khankala military base, Akhmadov's relatives searched for him for over a year. In May 2002, they found his remains, bearing signs of extrajudicial execution, in a vacant lot on the outskirts of Argun.

 

Baysayeva v. Russia, (74237/01)

Judgement date: 05/04/2007
Date of violations: 02/03/2000
Location: Chechnya, Grozny district, Pobedinskoye
Representative: SRJI
Violation: Disappearance

Baysayeva v. Russia Russian federal troops detained Shakhid Baysayev during a sweep operation in Pobedinskoe (near Grozny) on 2 March 2000. Baysayev's wife, Asmart Baysayeva, has been looking for her husband ever since. In August 2000, armed masked men sold her a videocassette containing footage of her husband's detention. Russian prosecutors opened a criminal investigation, but failed to take basic and necessary steps to determine the perpetrators of the crime. The Chechnya Justice Project submitted the videotape to the prosecutor's office with a request to identify the individuals on the videotape and question them, but never received a response.

 

Chitayev and Chitayev v. Russia, (59334/00)

Judgement date: 18/01/2007
Communicated: 24/08/2003
Lodged: 19/07/2000
Date of violations: 12/04/2000
Admissible: 30/06/2005
Location: Chechnya, Chernokozovo
Representative: SRJI
Violation: Torture

Chitayev and Chitayev v. Russia On 12 April 2000, the brothers Adam and Arbi Chitayev were detained by Russian military servicemen in their home in the village Achkhoy-Martan in Chechnya, Russia, and taken to the local police-station where they were questioned about the activities of Chechen fighters. They were later taken to the Chernokozovo detention center in north-west Chechnya. <p> During their detention both at the Achkhoy-Martan police-station and at the Chernokozovo detention center: the brothers were subjected to a range of torture methods; they were handcuffed to a chair and beaten; electric shocks were applied to various parts of their bodies; they were forced to stand for a long time in a stretched position; their arms were twisted; they were beaten with rubber truncheons and with plastic bottles filled with water; they were strangled with adhesive tape, with a cellophane bag and a gas mask; dogs were set on them; parts of their skin were torn away with pliers and more. The brothers were released on 5 October 2000, after almost six months in detention. Chitayev and Chitayev was the first torture case from Chechnya to be decided by the European Court of Human Rights.

 

Luluyev and Others v. Russia, (69480/01)

Judgement date: 09/11/2006
Date of violations: 03/06/2000
Location: Chechnya, City of Grozny
Representative: SRJI
Violation: Disappearance

On 3 June 2000, armed masked men on an armored personnel carrier detained Nura Luluyeva, her cousins and several other people at the Northern market in Grozny, where they had been selling strawberries. In March 2001, Luluyeva's body and those of her cousins were discovered among those retrieved from a mass grave in Dachny village, outside Grozny. Russian prosecutors failed to conduct a meaningful investigation. No full forensic examination was conducted on the body, and physical evidence, including clothing and blindfolds, was not saved as material evidence. (See also Magomed Musayev and Others v. Russia, judgment of 23 October 2008)

 
Cases 741 - 760 of 766