ECHR Cases from the North Caucasus

In October 2001 servicemen of the federal forces were stationed in the outskirts of Starye Atagi. They searched the highway for mines using several IBVs (infantry battle vehicle). At about 7.30 p.m. on 23 October 2001 two villagers who were out in their yard noted two of the IBVs and other vehicles on the opposite side of the road. Shortly thereafter, the villagers witnessed how the servicemen at the highway opened fire at an approaching private car. The shooting continued for about five to ten minutes. The servicemen then started their vehicles, towed one of the IBVs and left. Movsar Khamzatov was later found inside the private car but died from his injuries on the way to hospital.

At about 6 p.m. on 26 August 2001 a blue UAZ vehicle arrived at the house of the Edilov family in the village of Goyty and a group of military servicemen got off. Some servicemen rushed into the house and shortly thereafter led out Abdula Edilov in front of the neighbors. They put Abdula in the car and drove to the nearby checkpoint of the Russian federal forces. The car stopped at the checkpoint for a while and then continued towards Grozny. Abdula´s family has had no news from him since.

On 13 August 2003 Said-Emin Sambiyev and Mr V. M., both working at the Security Service of the Chechen President, were riding a taxi to the village of Makhety. Their taxi was stopped in the village of Tevzani at the checkpoint manned by military unit no. 28337-A. Both men were taken to the location of 45th regiment of the Airborne Forces in the village of Khatuni. On 25 August 2003 Mr V. M. was released. He described how he and Said-Emin had been detained in two separate pits not far from each other and that Said-Emin had been severely beaten. Said-Emin was never released and remains missing. The investigation into his detention and disappearance has not yielded any results.

During the first counter-terrorist campaign in Chechnya, Elbek Tashukhadzhiyev was working as a driver of a URAL petrol tanker lorry. On 9 February 1996 he was driving his lorry on the outskirt of Berkat-Yurt, Chechnya. Next to the village, in the vicinity of the Russian military checkpoint, he was stopped by a group of military intelligence officers under the command of Major Alexander Zavgorodniy. The group belonged to military unit no. 74614 of 205th brigade of the Internal Troops of the Russian Ministry of the Interior. After that Elbek disappeared. It is unclear whether the investigation into the murder and/or the disappearance of the applicant’s son has been completed.

On the morning of 2 October 2004, an OMON officer arrived at the applicant’s house and asked her son to go with him in order to give testimony that he was not involved in any terrorist activities. Timur was under investigation at the time and on 7 October was due to appear for an interrogation, but planned to deny the charges. Timur left with the OMON officer. Subsequently, witnesses reported seeing Timur and the OMON officer arrive at a crossroads surrounded by a convoy of APCs and a large group of servicemen. After checking their identity cards, the servicemen began beating Timur and then shot him in the thigh and the shoulder before dragging him into one of the APCs and driving off. He has not been seen since.  The applicant consistently appealed to the authorities to open an investigation into her son’s disappearance, but a separate criminal case into his abduction was never opened.

At about 6 p.m. on 1 August 2003 eleven years old Mamed Bagalayev was playing with his siblings in the yard outside their house in Shali when a group of military servicemen arrived on an APC and a GAZ-53 lorry. The servicemen got out of the vehicles and opened gunfire at the buildings around. It appeared that they were conducting a special operation. The children ran to take shelter in a hut in the yard. Inside the hut, Mamed noticed that he was bleeding and fell unconscious. The servicemen walked into the hut and searched it but refused to help Mamed. When the shooting stopped about an hour later Mamed had already died from his wounds.

In the evening of 9 May 2004 a group of armed men in two UAZ vehicles arrived at the Isayevs' home in the village of Goy-Chu. The servicemen searched the house, handcuffed Zelimkhan Isayev and took him with them. Zelimkhan was placed in the detention facility of the ROVD. A day later his relatives were told that he was in poor health. On 13 May Zelimkhan told his brothers that the servicemen had beaten him and used electrical current and cigarrettes to obtain a confession. On 16 May he was taken to a hospital in Nazran where he died shortly after his arrival. His death was caused by acute renal insufficiency, pulmonary oedema as well as by blunt injuries of the abdomen and chest. A criminal investigation was opened but concluded that there were no grounds for prosecution of the FSB servicemen.

Between 11 a.m. And 12 p.m. on 4 December 1999 Russian federal forces subjected the area around the village of Martan-Chu, Chechnya to shelling launched by rocket systems stationed 10 km away from the village. Ibragim Nakayev was standing in a friend's yard when a projectile landed on a car parked next to him. Ibragim recieved numerous splinter wounds and had to undergo several rounds of medical treatment. Despite his request to open a criminal investigation, it is unclear whether an investigation was ever instituted.

In the afternoon of 9 January 2002 Isa Aygumov and several neighbors were sawing firewood in the Aygumov family's yard in the village of Avtury. The village was at this time under full control of the Russian federal forces. At about 4 pm. two UAZ vehicles arrived at the Aygumov’s gate. A large number of servicemen got out and ran into the yard where they separated into smaller groups. Some searched the house while others detained Isa. They then put Isa in one of the vehicles before driving off towards Shali. Isa has not been seen since.

In the afternoon of 24 March 2001 Adam Makharbiyev and his two cousins I.M. and L.M. drove from the village of Chernorechye to Gekhi. They were stopped at a checkpoint manned by OMON officers from Yaroslavl. The servicemen detained all three men. The cousins were subsequently taken to the district military commander’s office in Urus-Martan where they were separated. L.M. was released on the following day and I.M. was released a day later. The district military commander later confirmed that Adam had been detained but Adam was never released and is still missing.

On 23 February 2006 Salambek Movsayev went to Chechen-Aul with his wife and son to visit a relative. Chechen-Aul at this time remained under full control of the Russian federal forces. At about 2 p.m. the family left for Grozny when their car was stopped by two servicemen on Ordzhonikidze Street. The men dragged Salambek out of his car while another seven or eight servicemen emerged from two cars parked nearby. Salambek was forced into one of the cars. Both cars subsequently drove off in the direction of Grozny. Salambek has been missing since.

In the beginning of April 2000, the village of Shaami-Yurt came under bombardment and several villagers, including Valid Gerasiyev, took shelter in a basement. On 5 April 2000 federal forces started a special “sweeping” operation in the village. The servicemen ordered all persons from the basement to come outside to conduct an identity check. General Shamanov, who was in command of the operation, was present during the identity checks. The servicemen subsequently put Valid in a minibus and drove away. There has been no news of Valid since. Three other residents of Shaami-Yurt were also apprehended that day. One of them were later found killed, the other two are still missing.

At about 11.45 p.m. on 27 March 2004 a group of Russian servicemen arrived at the house of the Kudayev family in Grozny. The servicemen seized Magomed-Emi Kudayev and placed him in one of their cars before driving away towards Khankala. Magomed-Emi has not been seen since. His family later heard from different sources that he had been detained by servicemen from the battalion Vostok under the command of Mr. S. Ya. The official investigation however never produced any tangible results.

At about 4 a.m. on 22 November 2002 a group of Russian military servicemen burst into the Kasumov family's home in Mesker-Yurt. They violently searched the houses and threatened several family members at gunpoint before leaving with Abdul Kasumov. Abdul has not been seen or heard from since.

On 10 March 2003 at 2 a.m. a group of Russian servicemen burst into the Maayev family's home in Urus-Martan. They threatened Isa Maayev's parents, then apprehended Isa and left taking him with them. Isa is missing since.

At about noon on 20 April 2005 Ruslanbek Alikhadzhiyev’s car was stopped at the checkpoint of the Russian federal forces in the vicinity of the village of Mesker-Yurt. Eyewitnesses saw how he was subsequently detained by three servicemen and taken inside the checkpoint which was surrounded by blocks. Ruslanbek is missing since.

The facts of the case are connected to Kerimova and Others v. Russia, no. 17170/04; 20792/04; 22448/04; 23360/04; 5681/05; 5684/05, decided on 3 May 2011.

On 7 June 2006, Khamzat Tushayev was ordered to report to the prosecutor's office of the Leninskiy District in Grozny on the following day. On 8 June 2006 Khamzat and his wife went to the complex of government buildings in Grozny, the prosecutor's office being situated within its guarded grounds. At the check point an on-duty officer gave Khamzat a pass and let him in. His wife stayed outside to wait for him. Two hours later, she asked the on-duty officer to call the prosecutor's office. After a telephone conversation the officer told her that Khamzat had not entered the premises of the prosecutor's office. Khamzat has not been seen since. The investigation into his disappearance has not been meaningful.

The applicants are 27 former residents of Kogi, Chechnya, including the relatives of three women and two children who were killed during an air strike conducted in by Russian military forces in the town on 12 September 1999. Two military planes indiscriminately dropped over seventy bombs on the village, which also destroyed many houses. The Court found that the government failed in its duty to safeguard the lives of the civilians in Kogi and that the force employed was grossly disproportionate to the perceived threat from rebel fighters.

At about 3.30 a.m. on 19 November 2002 a large group of federal servicemen burst
into Ayub Murtazov's house in the village of Naurskaya. They put his wife and two young sons in one of the rooms and tied them up with adhesive tape. They then left the house taking Ayub with them. Ayub has been missing since. The family's neighbours saw several armoured personnel carriers in the village that night. However, the investigation into his disappearance has not produced any results.