ECHR Cases from the North Caucasus

On 13 October 2001 a group of armed servicemen arrested Mr Ayub Bakhayev on a street in Argun and took him away. On 20 January 2002 the Argun inter-district prosecutor’s office opened criminal case no. 78009. The investigation is still pending.

On 15 March 2006 a group of armed servicemen arrested Ms Tumisha Sadykova at a car wash station in Grozny and took her away in UAZ (“таблетка”) vehicle. On 30 September 2006 the Leninskiy district prosecutor’s office in Grozny opened criminal case no. 50176. The investigation is still pending.

On 5 April 2003 a group of armed servicemen arrested Mr Alikhan Mazhiyev in a forest next to Ulus-Kert, Chechnya, and took him away. On 29 July 2003 (in the documents submitted the date was also referred to as 26 July 2003) the Vedeno district prosecutor’s office opened criminal case no. 24058. The investigation is still pending.

On 19 January 2000 a group of armed servicemen arrested Mr Said-Emin Ocherkhadzhiyev on a street in Grozny and took him away in an APC. On 19 June 2001 the Grozny town prosecutor’s office opened criminal case no. 17073. The investigation is still pending.

On 14 August 2002 a group of armed servicemen arrested Mr Sharudi Obrugov on a street in Argun and took him away to an unknown destination. On 1 October 2002 the Argun town prosecutor’s office opened criminal case no. 78094. The investigation is still pending.

On 20 December 2000 (in the documents submitted the date was also referred to as 20 February 2001) Mr Rizvan Bashayev left his sister’s home in Grozny and never returned. On 31 October 2005 the Zavodskoy district prosecutor’s office in Grozny opened criminal case no. 41209. The investigation is still pending.

On 27 January 2002 servicemen from the Shali temporary department of the interior arrested Mr Ibragim Idrisov in Shali and placed him in a temporary detention ward. His whereabouts remain unknown ever since. On 13 February 2002 the Shali district prosecutor’s office opened criminal case no. 59053. The investigation is still pending.

On 14 May 2002 a group of armed servicemen arrived at the applicants’ house in an APC and an armored infantry carrier and took Mr Khanpasha Kakhiyev away. On 28 September 2002 the Shali district prosecutor’s office opened criminal case no. 59240. The investigation is still pending.

On 8 February 2002 a group of armed servicemen detained the applicants’ relatives at checkpoint no. 111 (also known as “Otvaga”) in Argun and took them away in a URAL lorry. On 18 February 2002 the Argun inter-district prosecutor’s office opened criminal case no. 78021. The investigation is still pending.

On an unspecified date in the beginning of February (in certain documents submitted the date was referred to as 2 February 2000) a group of armed servicemen detained Mr Imran Inalkayev at the stationary checkpoint next to the junction of villages Valerik, Shalazhi and Gekhi and took him into the checkpoint building. On 28 August 2003 the Urus-Martan district prosecutor’s office opened criminal case no. 34089. The investigation is still pending.

On 24 April 2001 a group of around one hundred armed servicemen arrived at the refugee camp where the applicants were residing in four APCs, four UAZ and UAZ (“таблетка”) vehicles and took Mr Arbi Umarov, Mr Aslanbek Umarov, Mr Andarbek Abubakarov and Mr Mayrbek Murtazaliyev away. On 12 July 2001 the Shali district prosecutor’s office opened criminal case no. 2313. The investigation is still pending.

On 18 February 2001 a group of armed servicemen detained Mr Mayr-Ali Shavanov and Mr Lyoma Shavanov at the checkpoint in Prigorodnoye village, Chechnya, and took them away in an APC.  On 1 April 2001 the Grozny district prosecutor’s office opened criminal case no. 19044. The investigation is still pending.

On 2 April 2001 (in certain documents of the case file the date of the events is also referred to as 2 August 2001) a group of armed servicemen arrived at the applicants’ house in two APCs and took Mr Sayd-Khuseyn Tembulatov away. On 13 April 2001 the Argun inter-district prosecutor’s office opened criminal case no. 45038. The investigation is still pending.

On 15 March 2005 a group of men seized Mr Musa Bamatgiriyev on a street in Grozny and took him away in a Zhiguli car. On 9 August 2005 the Oktyabrskiy district prosecutor’s office in Grozny opened criminal case no. 42095. The investigation is still pending.

On 2 April 2005 a group of seven or eight armed men in camouflage uniforms broke into the applicant’s house in Gekhi and took away Mr Vakha Dadakhayev. On 7 April 2005 the Groznenskiy district prosecutor’s office opened criminal case no. 44024 under Article 105 (murder) of the Criminal Code. The investigation is still pending.

On 17 January 2000 Mr Sergey Vasilkov was taken away from his house in Grozny by armed servicemen in camouflage uniforms driving URAL vehicles. On 15 April 2001 and 11 July 2001 the Grozny prosecutor’s office opened criminal cases nos. 13064 and 13103 into Mr Sergey Vasilkov’s abduction. The investigation is still pending.

On 7 April 2001 Mr Rumid Isayev was detained by servicemen at the checkpoint on the road between Kulary and Lermontovo villages in Chechnya. On 4 October 2003 a group of about twenty armed servicemen in camouflage uniforms arrived at the applicants’ houses in one UAZ and three VAS vehicles and took Mr Suliman Isayev and Mr Ramzan Isayev away. The investigation is still pending.

On 1 April 2006 Mr Vakhid Magamedov went fishing with his fellow villagers, Mr Z., Mr D. and Mr Yu., near the village of Sary-Su in the Shelkovskiy district of Chechnya. The four men arrived at the fishing spot in the VAZ-2107 car of Mr Z. Three of them then went to the other side of the pond (in the documents submitted also referred to as a “lake”), while the applicant’s husband fished near the car. Mr Z., Mr D. and Mr Yu. fished about 40 to 60 metres from each other and about two hundred metres or so from Mr Magamedov. 7. At about 9 p.m. Mr Z., Mr D. and Mr Yu. heard gunfire coming from the direction of the car. They went in that direction and saw six or seven men in military camouflage uniforms next to their car and heard them speaking Russian. Those men had arrived in armoured personnel carriers (“APCs”) and were using flashlights. Mr Z., Mr D. and Mr Yu. hid in the bulrushes. Then they saw the servicemen trying to push the car into the pond and, when their attempt failed, set it on fire. Then the perpetrators noticed the three men hiding in the bulrushes and opened gunfire in their direction. Mr Z., Mr D. and Mr Yu. ran to the village of Sary-Su to warn the police. On the way they got lost in the dark and only arrived at the village at about 4 a.m. on 2 April 2006. They knocked at the door of the house of a local resident, Mr Kh.V., and told him about the incident. Mr Kh.V. took them by car to the local police station. Then Mr Z., Mr D. and Mr Yu. returned to the pond, accompanied by the police. They found Vakhid Magamedov’s burnt body in the car. At about the same time three cars and two APCs belonging to the federal military forces arrived at the scene. The servicemen told the police that they were carrying out a special operation in the area. Mr Yu. told to the policemen that he would be able to identify the servicemen who had killed Vakhid Magomedov.

The applicants are close relatives of of Islam Asukhanov  who was allegedly abducted in 2003 by servicemen from home in Chechnya. The event took place in the area under full control of the military forces. The applicants have had no news of their missing relative thereafter. The proceedings, after having been suspended and resumed on several occasions, have been pending for several years without attaining any tangible results. Referring to Article 2 of the Convention, the applicants complain of the violation of the right to life of their relative and submit that the circumstances of his abduction and ensuing disappearance indicate that he had been abducted by State agents. The applicants further complain that no effective investigation was carried out into the incident.

On 13 February 2003 a group of about forty armed servicemen arrived at Mr Zelimkhan Dutayev’s acquaintances’ block of flats in Grozny in two APCs and took Mr Zelimkhan Dutayev away. On 17 February 2003 the Grozny town prosecutor’s office opened criminal case no. 20039. The investigation is still pending.