European Court holds Russia responsible for the deaths of five men in Chechnya
SRJI Russian Justice Initiative
European Court holds Russia responsible for the deaths of five men in Chechnya
The European Court of Human Rights has found Russia responsible for the killing of four men and the disappearance of another in Chechnya between 2001 and 2004, Russian Justice Initiative and its partner organization “Astreya” reported today.
The applicants in Dovletukayev v Russia are the relatives of Aslan Dovletukayev, Khizir Gulmutov, Islam Tazurkayev, Supyan Khutsayev, and Abubakar Tazurkayev, who were abducted from various locations in Chechnya between 2001 and 2004. Abubakar Tazurkayev subsequently disappeared, while the bodies of the other four were found in the following weeks or months after their abduction, bearing signs of a violent death. The body of Islam Tazurkayev was found in a mass grave in the settlement of Zdorovye, near the Khankala military base, along with approximately 50 other bodies. Criminal investigations were opened into the abduction and murder of the applicants’ relatives, but were plagued by ineffectiveness from the start: crucial evidence was not collected, key witnesses not questioned, and forensic examinations of the bodies were never carried out.
Following on its findings in the landmark judgment of Aslakhanova v Russia of December 2012, concerning systematic non-investigation of disappearances in the North Caucasus, the Court found that the five investigations opened into the murder and abduction of the applicants’ relatives bore the same hallmarks of ineffectiveness as described in Aslakhanova, thus finding that the criminal investigations did not constitute an effective remedy. The Dovletukayev case originated in four separate applications lodged between 2007 and 2010, two of which were submitted by independent lawyers, and two by Russian Justice Initiative.
In its unanimous judgments, the European Court found, among other findings, that:
- The right to life has been violated in respect of all five of the abducted men (Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights), into which no effective investigation was conducted;
- The relatives of Abubakar Tazurkayev suffered inhuman and degrading treatment on account of the Government’s response to their complaints concerning the disappearance of their son, whose body was never found (Article 3 of the Convention);
- The applicants did not have access to an effective remedy before the Russian authorities for the violations (Article 13 in conjunction with Article 2 of the Convention).
The applicants were awarded a total of 300 000 euro in pecuniary and non-pecuniary damages.
For more information,
In Moscow, Aleksey Ponomarev, Interim Legal Director,“Astreya,” +7 (495) 915-0869; +7967 134 2833;
In Moscow, Vanessa Kogan, Director, “Astreya”: +7 (495) 915-0869; +7 925 863 5111.