ECHR Cases from the North Caucasus

On 3 May 2004 Mr Magomed-Salakh Tekhiyev was staying at Mr Umar Mukhadiyev’s house in Serzhen-Yurt. On 4 May 2004 at 6 a.m. a large group of armed and masked servicemen in camouflage uniforms stormed into the house. Pointing their guns at the two men, the intruders asked them for their passports. Since Magomed-Salakh had no passport on him, the servicemen tied his hands behind the back, put him in their APC with obscured registration numbers and drove away in direction of Avtury. On the same day the servicemen took away Umar Mukhadiyev’s neighbour, Mr Abdulvakhab Chevchiyev. As soon as the applicant learnt about Magomed-Salakh’s abduction, she went to the Shali district military commander’s office. Mr Dubovik, the military commander, acknowledged the abduction. He told the applicant that Magomed-Salakh and Abdulvakhab were detained in Avtury and would be released in three days; however, in three days he denied the detention in Avtury. He said that the men had been taken to the Main Federal Military Base in Khankala and would be released in fifteen days. Fifteen days later Mr Dubovik informed the applicant that the two abductees had absconded during the transportation. The applicant has not seen Mr Magomed-Salakh Tekhiyev since his abduction on 4 May 2004.

At the material time Mr Apti Medzhidov, Mr Akhmed Dudurkayev, Mr Visarkhan Dokuyev and Mr Alu Bultayev were policemen of the Road Patrol Service (Патрульно-постовая служба) at the Chechnya Ministry of the Interior (the MVD). They resided with their families in Tolstoy-Yurt, the Grozny district. In July 2000 the four men were in Grozny. The town was under curfew and only Russian military vehicles could freely move around. Apti, Akhmed and Visarkhan were staying at Markha Tatsuyeva’s flat and Alu was staying in another flat in the neighbourhood. Early in the morning on 16 July 2000 three or four APCs and several UAZ “tabletka” vehicles arrived at the building where Alu was staying. A group of fifteen servicemen in camouflage uniforms and helmets stormed into his flat, blindfolded and handcuffed him and put him in one of their APCs. The servicemen also arrested Ms Satsyta Sadykova, his neighbour, and put her into the same APC. After that the servicemen broke into Markha Tatsuyeva’s flat to arrest her, Apti, Akhmed, and Visarkhan. The servicemen put the four of them in the same APC with Alu and Satsyta. Then the APC drove to Khankala. Satsyta heard the sounds of helicopters and military vehicles throughout the one-hour journey.  In Khankala the six arrestees were placed in a detention centre. According to the applicants, the four men had been detained there until August 2001 without any official record of their detention there. Only Satsyta and Markha were officially registered as detainees. All of the detainees were kept in pits. Satsyta shared her pit with Alu. Once they managed to see Apti, Akhmed, Visarkhan and Markha. On 16 July 2000 Satsyta was transferred to another detention centre in Khankala and two days later to a temporary detention centre (SIZO) in Rostov-on-Don. On 21 July 2000 by a decision of Investigation unit of the FSB department in Rostov-on-Don Satsyta was released from detention. According to the decision, she had been arrested on suspicion of terrorist activities, in particular, blowing up a block of flats in Volgodonsk, the Rostov Region, on 16 September 1999. Markha was released on 21 July 2000. Some time later the applicants learnt from anonymous witnesses that as of August 2001 their relatives had been kept in the following detention facilities: SIZO no. 2 in Rostov-on-Don, a SIZO in Volgograd, SIZO no. 181 in Krasnodar and a SIZO in Chernokozovo. The applicants have not seen their four relatives since their abduction on 16 July 2000.

At the material time Katyr-Yurt was under curfew. At about 4 a.m. on 12 November 2002 a group of armed servicemen in camouflage uniforms and masks arrived at the applicants’ house in two APCs and a VAZ car. They broke into the house, quickly searched it, took Usman Salamov outside, forced him in one of the APCs and drove away. The applicants have not seen their son since his abduction on 12 November 2002.

In October 2005 Mr Apti Zaynalov was convicted of belonging to an illegal armed group. In July 2006 he was released from detention and after that date lived in Saratov, working in the construction industry. The applicant, his mother, often stayed with him in Saratov. On 26 June 2009 the applicant received a message from Apti Zaynalov on her mobile phone saying that he would be flying to Egypt the next day. She did not hear from him again and had assumed that he was in Egypt. The applicant complained that the right to life of her son had been violated, and that the authorities had failed to investigate this complaint.

At the material time the applicants and their brothers Daud and Khalid lived together in Chechen-Aul. Between 10 and 24 June 2002 the Russian military forces conducted a ‘sweeping-up’ operation in Chechen–Aul. The temporary headquarters of the operation was stationed at the outskirt of the village.On 16 June 2002 a group of about ten armed military servicemen in camouflage uniforms arrived at the applicants’ house in two APCs. The servicemen, some of whom were masked, searched the house and demanded Daud in unaccented Russian to proceed with them for an identity check; Daud was put in one of the APCs which drove away towards the temporary military headquarters.  On 23 June 2002 at the corner of Sadovaya and Sovkhoznaya Streets the same group of military servicemen in APCs detained Khalid Nuraliyev and took him to the temporary headquarters. According to the applicants, at some point in 2005 they found out that after the abduction Khalid Nuraliyev had been detained in a prison in the Rostov region. In response to their requests to the authorities asking to confirm this information, the applicant received negative replies. The applicants have not seen their brothers since their abduction in June 2002.

At the material time the town of Urus-Martan was under curfew; it was surrounded by military checkpoints. A number of law-enforcement   agencies, including the military commander’s office, were operating in the settlement. At about 2.30 a.m. on 14 October 2002 a group of ten armed servicemen  in camouflage uniforms, with flashlights attached to their foreheads, broke into the applicants’ house and took away their son, Aslanbek Saltuyev. The intruders, who were equipped with portable radios, took   Aslanbek to the UAZ minivan which was waiting in the street and drove away. The applicants saw that the servicemen had also arrived in an APC, a URAL lorry and another UAZ vehicle. The applicants have not seen their son since his abduction on 14 October 2002.

At about 11 p.m. on 12 January 2006 a group of ten armed servicemen in bulletproof vests and special helmets (the uniform usually worn by special forces) arrived at the applicant’s house in three UAZ vehicles. One of the vehicles was armoured, the others were equipped with radio stations. The servicemen smashed windows and broke into the house. They grabbed Iles and dragged him outside; two of the intruders held the applicant’s son Khussein at gun point and ordered him not to move. The servicemen put Iles in one of the vehicles and drove away in the direction of the Oktyabrskiy district department of the interior in Grozny (the ROVD). The applicant’s son Khussein immediately went to the ROVD with his relatives; there they were told that Iles had been arrested by mistake and that he would be released soon. The applicant has not seen her husband Iles Khamstkhanov since his abduction on 12 January 2006.

At the material time the applicants and Mr Magomed Khamzatov lived in the Staropromyslovskiy district of Grozny. At about 5 a.m. on 5 December 2004 the first applicant saw from the window a group of about ten to twelve armed servicemen in military uniforms, masks, bulletproof vest and helmets running down the street and breaking into the neighbouring house, which belonged to the applicants’ relatives. Shortly after that the armed men went to the applicants’ house demanded that the first applicant opened the door. They said that they were the police conducting identity checks. The intruders, who spoke unaccented Russian, took Magomed outside along with his passport and some clothing. The first applicant followed the abductors and saw that they had arrived in the neighbourhood in a UAZ minivan parked on a neighbouring street. A number of the applicants’ neighbours saw the servicemen forcing Magomed Khamzatov in the vehicle and driving away. On the same night the same group of servicemen broke into the house of the applicants’ neighbours, the family of Ms A.T., quickly checked identity documents and searched the house. The applicants have not seen Magomed Khamzatov since his abduction on 5 December 2004.

At about 4 a.m. on 7 July 2003 a group of about ten servicemen arrived at the applicants’ house in several UAZ vehicles and a GAZEL minivan. The servicemen, who were armed and in camouflage uniforms and masks, checked identity documents of the family members and then dragged Kharun Vezirov to the backyard, where they subjected him to beatings demanding in unaccented Russian that he showed them firearms allegedly hidden in the house. Having searched the house, the servicemen forced Kharun and Askhab Vezirov in the GAZEL minivan and drove away in the direction of the town of Argun, Chechnya. The applicants have not seen Kharun and Askhab Vezirov since their abduction on 7 July 2003.

At the material time the applicants and Aslambek Isayev lived together in Grozny. The applicants’ neighbourhood was surrounded by military checkpoints. The area was under curfew. At about 3 a.m. on 16 April 2003 a group of about ten armed servicemen in camouflage uniforms arrived at the applicants’ house in two UAZ vehicles. They broke into the house, asked the applicants in Russian whether any firearms were hidden on the premises and quickly searched it. After that they told the applicants that identity checks had been conducted in the area and that more than fifty persons had been already arrested as the result. Then they said that they would check Aslambek’s identity, put him in one of the UAZ cars and drove away. The applicants have not seen Mr Aslambek Isayev since his abduction on 16 April 2003.

At the material time the town of Gudermes was under curfew; it was surrounded by military checkpoints. A special military unit no. 291 of the 42nd regiment of the motorised infantry division of the Russian Ministry of Defence called ‘Battalion Vostok’ (батальон 291-го мотострелкового полка 42-ой гвардейской мотострелковой дивизии Министерства Обороны РФ) was stationed in the settlement. According to the applicants, the battalion was involved in special operations of the Russian federal forces. Dzhandar and Dzhalil Ismailov lived with their families, including the applicants, on the second floor of block of flats at no. 52 in Kavkazskaya Street in Gudermes. In the early hours of 21 January 2003 a group of about ten to fifteen servicemen in camouflage uniforms and masks arrived at the applicants’ address in a grey UAZ vehicle with smeared registration numbers. The only one serviceman without mask had dark hair and a clearly visible scar on the left cheek. The intruders, who were armed with machineguns, dispersed throughout the building on each floor. Then they broke into the applicants’ flat; quickly searched it and took away gold jewellery and 250,000 Russian rubles (RUB) (about EUR 6,500). They were in a rush and gave no explanations for their actions; after the search they took Dzhandar and Dzhalil outside without allowing them to put on warm clothing. They forced the brothers in the UAZ vehicle and drove away in the direction of Grozny. About two of three months after the abduction the second applicant was informed by Mr A.Kh., an officer from the Vostok battalion, that his sons were detained by the battalion’s commander Dzhabrail Yamadayev. The applicants have not seen their relatives since their abduction on 21 January 2003.

On the night between 11 and 12 February 2001 two cousins Said-Ibragim Sangariyev and Idris Sangariyev were staying at the house of their uncle Said-Khussein in Stariye Atagi. At 6 a.m. a group of about forty to fifty military servicemen arrived in three APCs at Said-Khussein’s house. Other military vehicles and URAL lorries cordoned off the neighbourhood; the servicemen ordered the neighbours to stay inside. The servicemen climbed over the fence and broke into the house. Threatening to blow up the dwelling, they took Said-Khussein outside and put him on the knees against the wall demanding that he told them where were his nephews Said-Ibragim and Idris. Then the servicemen searched the house looking for the two cousins; about an hour later they found them and dragged them outside. Then the servicemen reported the arrest to their superiors via portable radios using code numbers ‘22-23-43’. After that they took Said-Ibragim’s VAZ-2107 car with registration number C96 AP 20RUS, put both cousins there and drove them away in the direction of Grozny. According to the documents submitted, the applicants’ relatives were taken to Khankala, the headquarters of the Russian federal forces in Chechnya. In less than a month after the abduction, the fourth applicant saw that Said-Ibragim’s car was driven around by a group of military servicemen of Slavic appearance, whose uniform had small stars on the shoulder straps. The applicants have not seen their relatives since their abduction on 12 February 2001.

At the material time the village of Stariye Atagi was under curfew.   It was surrounded by military checkpoints situated in all roads leading   to and from the settlement. A military unit of the Russian federal forces   was stationed at the outskirts of the village, on the premises of the   former mill factory (‘the mill’). According to the applicants, the   mill was used as a filtering point by the military for the processing   and detention of local residents detained during special operations.  At about 5 a.m. on 26 February 2003 a group of about twenty armed   military servicemen in camouflage uniforms arrived at the applicants’   house in two grey UAZ minivans and two VAZ-2121 (‘Niva’) cars. The   vehicles surrounded the house. Some of the servicemen were wearing masks;   some of them had helmets on. The servicemen broke into the applicants’   house and ordered everyone to show their identity documents. Then they   grabbed Saykhan, forced him outside and put him into one of the vehicles.   The applicants, accompanied by a neighbour, also got in a car and followed   the abductors to the premises of the military unit at the mill. There   they tried to gain access to the military compound, but to no avail.   On-duty servicemen denied having seen any cars leaving or entering the   premises. The applicants have not seen their son since his abduction on 26 February   2003.

According to the applicants, who live in the same street, on 20 July 2003 the Russian federal forces conducted a sweeping-up operation in Noviye Atagi, as the result of which at least three local residents were arrested, including the applicants’ relatives. Military checkpoints were situated in all of the roads leading to and from the settlement. The area was under curfew. At about 5 a.m. on 20 July 2003 a convoy of military vehicles, consisting of at least three APCs (with hull numbers 100, 101 and F-121), one URAL lorry (with registration number 75-99 6 RUS) and a UAZ all-terrain car, arrived at the applicants’ street. A group of about fifty heavily-armed military servicemen in camouflage uniforms got out of the vehicles and broke into at least four houses in the street, including those of the applicants. A group of about fifteen servicemen climbed over the fence and broke into the house of the Akhmadov family. They checked identity documents of the male residents, quickly searched the house without producing any warrant or giving explanations to their actions and took Idris Akhmadov outside. The servicemen also took some of the family valuables. They put Idris into the UAZ minivan, and then they dragged him out and forced him into the APC and drove away. At about 5.30 a.m. group of fifteen to twenty servicemen in a yellow UAL lorry with registration number 75 99 86 broke in the house of the Dashtayev family. Several APCs and a UAZ minivan were waiting in a neighbouring street. They found in the yard Imran Dashtayev; they demanded his passport. Imran’s passport was submitted for renewal, so the servicemen told his relatives that they would take him for an identity check. Then they forced Imran in the yellow lorry and drove away. The applicants have not seen their relatives since their abduction on 20 July 2003.

At the material time Mr Akhdan Tamayev lived together with his family and the applicant in the settlement of Roshni-Chu. The settlement was under curfew. According to enclosed documents, on 4-6 January 2001 Russian servicemen conducted a sweeping-up operation in Roshni-Chu. The operation’s head office was stationed on the outskirts. On 6 January 2001 at around 9 a.m. the applicant went to the local administration, taking Akhdan’s passport with him. A group of servicemen arrived at the applicant’s house and took Akhdan with them because he failed to show his passport. They put him in a GAZ-66 lorry and drove to the outskirts of Roshni-Chu. Akhdan’s wife, who witnessed the abduction, ran to the local administration, where she met the applicant and told him about the events. When the applicant returned home, Akhdan was not there. The house was surrounded by servicemen armed with machineguns, accompanied by the head of the administration, Mr Mamatsuyev. A serviceman took Akhdan’s passport and confirmed to the applicant that his soon would soon be released. Shortly thereafter Mr G.A. Gadzhiyev, the military commander for the Urus-Martan district, and Mr Z.K. Kuryayev, the head of the Urus-Martan ROVD, arrived at the spot. They informed the applicant that Akhdan would be taken to the ROVD for an identity check and released. On the same day the servicemen arrested two other residents, the brothers Muslim and Alikhan Movkayev. After their release that evening, the brothers informed the applicant that Akhdan had been arrested with them. The servicemen had taken the three of them to the outskirts of town in the GAZ lorry, kept them there until 5 p.m. and then took them to the ROVD. At around 6 p.m. Muslim and Alikhan had been released, whereas Akhdan had remained at the police station. On 7 January 2001 Mr Mamatsuyev told the applicant that he had gone to the ROVD, where he had been promised that Akhdan would be released at 10 a.m. on the same day. However, the applicant’s son was not released. On 5 February 2001 the applicant went to the police station. An officer informed him that Akhdan’s detention there had been registered and that he had been transferred to the premises of an FSB department. The applicant has not seen Mr Akhdan Tamayev since his abduction on 6 January 2001.

According to the applicants, on 13-15 December 2001 Russian servicemen conducted a sweeping-up operation in Argun. The town was surrounded by military checkpoints and the residents required authorisation to enter or leave the town. On-duty servicemen in the streets made it impossible for the residents to move around. At the material time the applicants and Yakub Dzhabrailov lived as a family in two neighbouring houses. On 14 December 2001 a group of twenty servicemen arrived at the applicants’ house in an APC and a UAZ “tabletka” car with obscured registration plates. The servicemen were camouflaged and unmasked, of Russian or Asian appearance and spoke unaccented Russian. Having searched Yakub’s house, they made a threat to the applicants that they would take Yakub with them and added that those whom they had taken away had never returned home. On 15 December 2001 at around noon the same servicemen arrived in the neighbourhood in the APC and cordoned off the area. Some of them broke into the applicants’ house and locked the applicants in, while two others entered Yakub’s house. They forced Yakub outside, put him in the APC and drove to the military commander’s office. Servicemen patrolling the streets witnessed the events but did not interfere. Later on the same day the second applicant went to the Argun town administration where she met about fifty relatives of other men arrested during the special operation. Two representatives of the town council informed her that the arrestees had been taken to a “filtering” point on the outskirts of Argun and agreed to pass on clothes to Yakub. In the evening the applicant learnt that the arrested men would be transferred to the military commander’s office. On 17 December 2001 the military commander’s office informed the applicants that the special operation had been conducted by a special forces unit which did not report to the office and that none of the arrested men had been brought to their premises. Subsequently the applicants learnt that Yakub and seven other persons arrested on 13-15 December 2001 had not been released. On 18 December 2001 the first applicant heard Yakub screaming at the district military commander’s office. The applicants have not seen Mr Yakub Dzhabrailov since his abduction on 15 December 2001.

At the material time Mr Moul Usumov worked at the Kurchaloy FSB. The Kurchaloy district military commander’s office and the FSB department’s office were situated on the eastern outskirts of Kurchaloy, close to the 33rd regiment (33 бригада) of the Russian armed forces stationed on the premises of the Roads Department (дорожно-ремонтно-строительное управление, ДРСУ). On 30 June 2001 at 3.30 a.m. a group of fifteen to twenty armed servicemen in camouflage uniforms with dogs cordoned off the applicants’ neighbourhood in APC no. L119 (Л119), a UAZ car and two URAL lorries. Seven servicemen broke into the applicants’ house and ordered the applicants to lie down on the floor in unaccented Russian. After searching the premises, the servicemen took away money, a number of valuables and Moul’s military service card. One of the servicemen hit Moul with the rifle butt, demanding that he spell out his name. Then the servicemen handcuffed Moul, took him outside, put him in the APC and drove away. The first applicant and her relative, Mr Sheykhi Usumov, followed the vehicles and saw them entering the premises of the 33rd regiment. The applicant also saw other Kurchaloy residents driving towards the regiment. She learnt that seven other men had been arrested that day. Later on the same day the Kurchaloy district military commander and the head of the Kurchaloy FSB, Mr Viktor Ivanovich, agreed to talk to the first applicant and seven other women. The military commander acknowledged that the servicemen of the 33rd regiment had arrested their relatives but denied his subordinates’ involvement in the abduction. The head of the FSB told the applicant: “It comes as a shock to me to hear that Mr Usumov has been arrested. He belongs to us. Don’t worry; he will be released by 4 p.m.” He replied to the other women: “You should have cried earlier, not now. Your sons are up to the elbows in blood and they shall be held liable.” However, Moul was not released that day. On 1 July 2001 the head of the FSB informed the first applicant that, despite Moul’s innocence, under the law, the servicemen of the 33rd regiment could detain him for up to ten days. He asked the applicant to bring some clothes for her husband. However, a day later, the officer told her that he could not help her as some superior power structures had taken care of Moul. The applicant was no longer allowed to talk to Mr Viktor Ivanovich. Some time later the deputy military commander informed the applicants that Moul had been released between 15 and 18 July 2001 along with the other seven detainees. Those individuals later confirmed that they had been detained together with Moul but he had not been released with them. The applicants have not seen Mr Moul Usumov since his abduction on 30 June 2001.

According to the applicants, in September-October 2002 federal servicemen conducted a special operation in Gudermes and arrested about thirty people, including the Suleymanov brothers. The servicemen took the arrested men to the Gudermes district department of the interior (“the ROVD”) in buses belonging to the Federal Security Service (“the FSB”). After their fingerprints were checked and pictures taken, the arrested men were released. At the material time the applicants and Salambek, Khasanbek and Anderbek resided in two neighbouring houses in Gudermes. The town was under curfew. On 28 October 2002 two neighbours, Mr Ali Mukhadiyev and Mr Musa Zakayev, visited the applicants. Anderbek joked that the applicants kept bombs in the basement. It appears that Musa Zakayev had previously been detained by the FSB and released on condition of providing information. According to the applicants, he could have informed the FSB about the joke. On 29 October 2002 at around 4 a.m. a group of camouflaged servicemen in masks and helmets arrived at the applicants’ houses in two UAZ “tabletka” cars. They were armed with short-barrelled automatic rifles (Тюльпанчик). The servicemen stormed inside, quickly searched the houses, looking for drugs, firearms, and, in particular, for the bomb allegedly hidden in the basement. Threatening the applicants in unaccented Russian, the servicemen ordered them to lie down on the floor. They collected the applicants’ and the three brothers’ identity documents, put the latter in the UAZ and drove off in the direction of the town centre, with unobstructed passage through a checkpoint on the way. A week later a former classmate of Khasanbek told the applicants that their relatives had been detained in a temporary detention centre (“the IVS”) on the ROVD’s premises. FSB officers guarded them and occasionally took them out. Khasanbek had passed an item of his clothing over to his parents through another acquaintance and asked him to inform them of his place of detention. However, the ROVD officers denied that the brothers were detained there and did not allow the applicants to enter the premises. Another of the applicants’ neighbours, a ROVD officer, also confirmed that the three men had been held at the ROVD. The applicants subsequently learnt from anonymous sources that in 2003 the brothers had been detained at the premises of an FSB department, that in 2003 Salambek had been taken to Rostov and onward to Yaroslavl and that Mr Aslan Dzhamadayev, the head of the criminal search unit at the ROVD, had ordered the abduction. The applicants have not seen their three relatives since their abduction on 29 October 2002.

On 19 September 2001 a group of about fifteen servicemen arrived at the applicants’ neighbourhood in Urus-Martan and cordoned off the area. Their UAZ car had no registration plates and the registration number of their URAL lorry was obscured with mud. All of the servicemen were armed, in camouflage uniforms and masks, save for the commanding officer. The latter was unmasked, had Slavic features and had an FSB emblem on his sleeve. After a quick search of the applicants’ house, the servicemen told them in unaccented Russian that they had to take away Ramzan and Aslan to check their fingerprints at a laboratory, which was situated on the premises of an Azeri market on the western outskirts of Urus-Martan. As the applicants refused to let their relatives go, the commander started shooting in the air. After that, the servicemen collected the bullet shells, put Aslan in the UAZ and Ramzan in the URAL and drove away. Immediately after the arrest, the first applicant went to the market and the Urus-Martan district military commander’s office but his arrested relatives were not there. Then he went to the district prosecutor’s office, where he was told that the two men had been taken to the IVS at the Urus-Martan ROVD. In the evening, an official from the local administration confirmed this information to the second applicant, adding that both men would be released as soon as they had had their fingerprints checked. Mr Radmir Arbekov, an assistant to the district prosecutor, agreed to pass on some food brought by the applicant for them. However, Ramzan and Aslan were not released that day. On 20 September 2001 the ROVD officers informed the applicants that their relatives had been transferred to the district military commander’s office. However, nobody at the office acknowledged their detention. On 8 October 2001 the second applicant saw the commanding officer who had participated in her relatives’ arrest at the military commander’s office. Sometime later she saw two other servicemen, who could have also participated in her relatives’ abduction. When approached, one of the servicemen introduced himself as Vitaliy. The applicants have not seen Ramzan and Aslan Chankayev since their abduction on 19 September 2001.

Mr Dzhamali Sultanov has been suffering from a disability. In September 2004 he had an argument with Mr Ruslan Solgiriyev, a local police officer. According to the applicants, the latter, in order to get back at Dzhamali, could have deliberately misinformed the Achkhoy-Martan ROVD that Dzhamali was involved in illegal activity. On 5 November 2004 at around 3 a.m. a group of servicemen arrived at the applicants’ house. Five of them broke into the house. They were in camouflage uniforms and armed with machineguns; three of them wore masks and the others were wearing helmets and caps. Those with open faces were of Slavic appearance; the servicemen spoke Russian and Chechen. They asked whether the applicants had any weapons or drugs, then checked Dzhamali’s passport, forced him outside and put him in a khaki UAZ car. They said that they were taking him to Grozny. Then the UAZ departed in the direction of Achkhoy-Martan, accompanied by a convoy of about ten vehicles, including UAZs, GAZEL minivans, VAZ-21099 and Lada (Жигули) civilian cars. Later in the night a serviceman manning a roadblock in the vicinity confirmed that the convoy had entered Achkhoy-Martan. According to the applicants, the abductors acted on the false information given to the ROVD by Ruslan Solgiriyev. Five days later the applicants’ acquaintance, Mr Akhdan, who served at the seventh military commander’s squadron stationed in Achkhoy-Martan (седьмая ачхой-мартановская комендантская рота), confirmed having seen the convoy in Achkhoy-Martan. He submitted that a UAZ car had entered the the ROVD’s grounds, while the rest of the convoy continued to drive. According to Mr Akhdan, Dzhamali had been detained at the ROVD and had been questioned by Mr V.N. Kulikov, the head of the ROVD’s criminal search department. According to the applicants, Mr V.N. Kulikov was the head of the Zheleznodorozhniy ROVD in Voronezh and was on a temporary assignment in Achkhoy-Martan. According to the Memorial NGO, in November 2006 Mr Kulikov had participated in the abduction of another Samashki resident, Mr Murad Magomadov. In a meeting with the first applicant, Mr A. Sadovnikov, Mr Kulikov’s deputy at the Achkhoy-Martan ROVD denied that Mr Dzhamali had been detained at the ROVD. Mr Akhdan was killed several days after the conversation with the applicants. The applicants have not seen Mr Dzhamali Sultanov since his abduction on 5 November 2004.