ECHR Cases from the North Caucasus

The applicant brought a counterclaim, seeking the reinstatement of her status as a forced migrant. She claimed that she had not applied for the prolongation of her status because of serious health problems. She had been classified as having a first-degree disability and had not managed to gather all the necessary documents in time. The compensation paid for her housing in Chechnya had been insufficient for buying a flat in St Petersburg. She did not have any other housing or family support. Her eldest son had been killed in Chechnya while another son did not have any housing of his own. The applicant complains under Article 8 of the Convention of a violation of her right to respect for the home.

At about 12.15 a.m. on 5 March 2001 (in the documents submitted the date was also indicated as 4 March 2001) a group of about thirty armed servicemen in camouflage uniforms arrived at the applicants’ houses at 50 Gagarina Street in Tsotsi-Yurt in armoured personnel carriers (APCs). The servicemen spoke unaccented Russian and were wearing military helmets; some of them were wearing balaclavas. Having broken into the applicants’ houses, which were located next to each other and shared the same courtyard, the servicemen forced Mr Khuseyn Temirsultanov, Mr Khasan Temirsultanov and Mr Movldi Temirsultanov outside, then put them into one of the APCs and drove off to an unknown destination. The whereabouts of the applicants’ relatives have remained unknown ever since. Their abduction took place in the presence of the applicants and their neighbours.

At about 4.30 a.m. on 14 July 2003 a group of ten to twelve armed servicemen in camouflage uniforms and balaclavas arrived at the applicants’ house at 94 Voronezhskaya Street in Grozny in two UAZ minivans (tabletka) and a Volga car. The vehicles’ registration numbers were covered with mud. The servicemen spoke unaccented Russian and used portable radio sets. They broke into the applicants’ house, forced all those present onto the floor and searched the premises. Having checked Mr Gerikhanov’s passport, they forced him outside, put him into one of the UAZ minivans and drove off to an unknown destination. One of the servicemen lost a bullet while reloading his machine gun in the courtyard of the applicants’ house during the operation. The applicants found the bullet and submitted it to the investigators (see below). The whereabouts of Mr Gerikhanov have remained unknown ever since.

At about 2 a.m. on 23 July 2002 Mr Ibakov and his family members, including the second applicant, were at home at 21 Komsomolskaya Street in Oktyabrskoye when a group of twenty to thirty armed servicemen in camouflage uniforms broke into their house. The servicemen spoke unaccented Russian; those of them who were not wearing balaclavas were of Slavic appearance. They searched the premises, then forced Mr Ibakov and the second applicant outside, put them into an UAZ minivan (tabletka) without registration numbers and drove off to an unknown destination. On 26 July 2002 the second applicant was released on the outskirts of the village of Pravoberezhnoye, Chechnya, and returned home. He was subsequently questioned by the investigators about the circumstances of the abduction (see below). The whereabouts of Mr Ibakov have remained unknown ever since.

At the material time all the applicants were detained in Russian penal facilities. While in detention, the applicants Mr Baban, Mr Barkov and Mr Bogatyrev sought compensation for inadequate conditions of their detention and substandard medical care; the applicants Mr Davydov, Mr Pflyaum and Mr Yakovlev were involved in contract disputes; Mr Fedchenko was the respondent in a divorce claim; Mr Starodubtsev challenged the decision by which he had lost the status of a disabled person; and Mr Shavayev was the defendant in an action for damages brought by the Federal Customs Service. None of the applicants, apart from Mr Yakovlev, were able to attend the hearings before the courts of first instance. The domestic courts refused the applicants leave to be present at the hearings, on the ground that there was no domestic legal provision for bringing detainees to courts. In some of the cases they quoted Article 77.1 of the Code on the Execution of Sentences (see paragraph 10 below) and the relevant provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure. In the other cases the issue of the applicants’ presence was left unaddressed. In the first-instance proceedings Mr Shavayev and Mr Starodubtsev were represented by their relatives. Mr Barkov and Mr Davydov were interviewed at courts located near the places of their detention.

Sirazhudin Aliyev and Gazimagomed Abdullayev were abducted by State agents in the afternoon on 21 January 2012 when driving on a street in  Makhachkala, Dagestan. The two young men were driving in Gazimagomed’s VAZ-Kalina car to pick up money from a person who owed it to a relative of theirs, when they were stopped by a group of several armed men in the traffic police uniforms who drove in a white Toyota car and a black VAZ-Priora car. The men hit Gazimagomed’s car with truncheons, forced Sirazhudin and Gazimagomed out, put them separately into their vehicles and drove away. Shorty after that Gazimagomed’s car disappeared from the place of the incident. According to the applicants’, their
relatives were taken to the premises of the Dagestan Centre on Terrorism Counteraction (the CTC) in Makhachkala. Sirazhudin Aliyev and Gazimagomed Abdullayev have not been seen since.

At about 3 p.m. on 19 June 2002 Isa Yusupov were detained by the servicemen of the mobile checkpoint in the settlement of Voykovo, Grozny, Chechnya. The servicemen were driving  two APCs and two cars UAZ. They put Isa into the one of APCs and took him away. Isa has been missing since that. The investigation into this fact has no  result.

Abu-Bakar Tsechoyev was abducteud by State agents in the evening of 22 March 2012 from the place of his work at the water station in the settlement of Ordzhenikidzevskaya, Ingushetia. A group of about ten men in camouflage uniforms and masks armed with automatic weapons broke into the station, tied the employees, took them into separate rooms and subjected them to beatings. Then they took Abu-Bakar Tsechoyev outside, forced him in one of their UAZ-brand vehicles and drove away in the direction of Chechnya. They were supposed to pass through a checkpoint located on the border between Ingushetia and Chechnya, on the auto route Ordzhenikidzevskaya - Semovodsk.

At about 1 p.m. on 2 May 2012 Mr Kamil Mutayev and his twelve‑year old son Muradis were driving in their VAZ-21099 car in Shamil Street in the centre of the town of Kizilyurt, Dagestan, when they were blocked by two silver-coloured VAZ Priora cars with heavily tinted windows, one of which had an official registration number containing the digits “78”. Eight masked men in black uniforms and armed with pistols and machine guns got out of the Priora cars, knocked Mr Kamil Mutayev off his feet and forced him into one of their vehicles. They threatened his son with firearms and ordered him to stay in the car. The abduction took place approximately two hundred metres from the district police station (the department of the interior) and the public prosecutor’s office. After the abduction the perpetrators drove away through the local traffic police checkpoint. The applicants submitted to the Court the witness statements of Ms Ya.R. dated 7 February 2013 and of Ms As.I. dated 25 February 2013. According to both women, they did not see the abduction but both saw two Priora cars speeding away from the vicinity of where the incident took place around the time of the abduction. It does not appear that either of the witnesses provided a statement to the investigation.

On 4 February 2000 Mr Akhmed Doshayev and Mr Alvi Doshayev along with other residents of the village were detained by military servicemen in the course of a “sweeping-up” operation in Shaami-Yurt. On 6 March 2000 the body of Mr Akhmed Doshayev was found in Shaami-Yurtn whereas the whereabouts of Mr Alvi Doshayev have not been established since. On 14 March 2001 the Achkhoy-Martan district prosecutor’s office opened criminal case no. 27010 under Article 127 of the Criminal Code (unlawful detention). The investigation is still pending.

On 11 January 2000 Mr Muslim Bachayev was forced by armed men in an APC at bus stop “Tashkala” in Grozny and taken away to an unknown destination. On an unspecified date in September 2000 the Grozny prosecutor’s office opened criminal case no. 12323. The investigation is still pending.

The applicant did not witness her daughter’s abduction. Her account of the events is based on information obtained from her neighbours in Kalinin. On 31 October 2009, while Ms Zarema Gaysanova was at the applicant’s property on Second Darvina Lane, the law-enforcement authorities launched a special operation in the village, aimed at eliminating members of illegal armed groups. During the operation a man hid in the applicant’s property, which was blocked and shelled until it caught fire. As the house was burning down, Ms Gaysanova was pushed into a UAZ vehicle and taken away. After the house burnt to the ground, law-enforcement officers recovered a man’s body. Shortly thereafter the Chechen President, Mr Ramzan Kadyrov, and the Chechen Minister of the Interior, Mr Ruslan Alkhanov, arrived at the property. Mr Kadyrov, among other things, gave an interview to the local media, saying that a member of illegal armed groups had been “liquidated” in the applicant’s house. The applicant has had no news of her daughter since her disappearance.

The facts of the case, as submitted by the parties, may be summarised as follows. In 2001 the applicant took part in several antiterrorist military operations in Chechnya. On 24 April 2003 he successfully sued the Military Commander of Shatoyskiy Region and obtained a judgment awarding him 400,000 Russian roubles as additional remuneration. This judgment was not appealed against and became final on 5 May 2003. On 15 February 2005 the applicant submitted five writs of execution to the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation (“the Ministry of Finance”). According to the applicant, on 10 April 2006 the Ministry of Finance returned the writs of execution stating that they should be submitted to the local branch of the Federal Treasury. On 27 August 2010 the applicant’s representative applied to the Ministry of Finance requesting information about the relevant financial authority to which the writs of execution should be submitted.
On 10 September 2010 the Ministry of Finance refused to provide this information to the applicant’s representative. On 17 October 2010 the applicant lodged an application with the Regional Military Court of the North Caucasus claiming compensation for the non-enforcement of the judgment of 24 April 2003. On 15 November 2010 the Regional Military Court of the North Caucasus returned the application stating that on 9 October 2007 the Presidium of the Regional Military Court of the North Caucasus had quashed by way of supervisory review the judgment of 24 April 2003 and dismissed the applicant’s claims.

On 30 July 2002 a group of armed servicemen apprehended Mr Abu-Bakar Magomadov on a street in the centre of Grozny and took him away. On 10 April 2003 the Grozny town prosecutor’s office opened criminal case no. 30057. The investigation is still pending.

On 24 July 2002 Mr Magomed Ibayev was abducted by armed servicemen at the central market in Grozny. On 17 July 2003 the Zavodskoy district prosecutor’s office of Grozny opened criminal case no. 30116. The investigation is currently pending.

On 20 April 2000, during the day, Mr Badrudi Nazyrov and his friend, Mr Said-Selim A., were at the applicant's house in Gekhi when a group of 30 to 40 armed servicemen of the Police Special Task Unit (OMON) arrived in the town in several cars. Some of them were masked. They cordoned off the area and ordered the dwellers to stay inside. About 15 armed servicemen broke into the applicant's house and searched it. Then they beat up Mr Badrudi Nazyrov and his friend, pulled their T-shirts over their heads, put them in a UAZ-"tabletka" vehicle and took them to the Urus-Martan military commander's office. On the following day the military commander's office accepted food package for detained Badrudi Nazyrov; but on the next day the servicemen denied that he had ever been brought to their office. The applicant has not seen Mr Badrudi Nazyrov since the abduction

At the material time Grozny was under curfew. At about 1 a.m. on 16 August 2003 a group of about ten to fifteen armed servicemen in camouflage uniforms and masks arrived at the applicant’s block of flats in three grey UAZ vehicles. They broke into the applicant’s flat, quickly searched it, took Ayndi Diniyev outside, forced him in one of their vehicles and drove away. The applicant has not seen her husband since his abduction on 16 August 2003.

It appears that Mr Eduard Zaynadinov actively participated in both Chechen wars in 1994-1996 and 1999-2000. At that time the applicant and her two minor children lived in Shali. In January and February 2000 Russian servicemen regularly visited their dwelling. They searched for firearms and asked her questions concerning her husband’s whereabouts. Fearing for her family’s safety, the applicant moved to the settlement of Kavkaz. In June 2002 Eduard joined them there. On 24 June 2002 servicemen in APCs took him away from home. He was released a week later. On 30 July 2002 between 3 and 4 a.m. a group of armed masked men broke into the applicant’s flat in Kavkaz. They pulled a plastic bag over Eduard Zaynaldinov’s head and took him away. Several days later the servicemen returned to the applicant’s house to search it and to question her about her husband’s involvement in armed hostilities. They found a list of members of illegal armed groups and a number of other documents, such as IDs, in the flat and firearms in the garden. They accused the applicant of being a rebel and beat her to unconsciousness with rubber sticks. Since then the servicemen visited the applicant’s house on a number of occasions, questioning her and threatening to kill her and her children. At some point in 2004 the applicant and her children moved to Nazran, Ingushetia. On 16 November 2004 they fled Chechnya. They were granted refugee status in France where they currently reside. The applicant has not seen Mr Eduard Zaynadinov since his abduction on 30 July 2002.

The applicant complains of a number of violations in respect of his son, Mr Umar Israilov. In particular, he complains that his son was subjected to ill-treatment while in detention in breach of Article 3 of the Convention, that his detention was in violation of Article 5 of the Convention and that he had no effective remedies under Article 13 of the Convention in respect of those violations. The applicant alleges that there is an arguable claim that his son’s murder was organised with the connivance of the Russian State authorities, namely the President of Chechnya or people under his direct command. The Russian Government were thus in breach of their obligation under Article 2 of the Convention to investigate those allegations. In respect of his own situation, the applicant complains of a violation of Article 3 of the Convention on account of the ill-treatment to which he was subjected during the first days of his detention, which amounted to torture. He further complains that the conditions of his detention in the course of eleven months amounted to inhuman and degrading treatment. The applicant further alleges that the Russian Government failed to conduct an investigation into his credible allegations of torture and ill-treatment. In addition, the applicant complains that his unlawful detention violated Article 5 as a whole. The applicant alleges that the search carried out at his apartment in Grozny on the day of his detention was unlawful and did not follow the procedure prescribed by law, in breach of Article 8 of the Convention. He further alleges that in the course of that search he was deprived of his property in violation of Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 to the Convention and that his attempts to get his money and documents back were futile. The applicant claimed that he had no effective remedies against the above violations, in breach of Article 13 of the Convention.

In the night of 3 to 4 February 2002 the town of Gekhi was under curfew. At around 4 a.m. the 1st applicant learnt from his relative that Mr Ruslan Kagermanov had been abducted from home earlier on same night by a group of armed servicemen who had arrived at his house in a URAL lorry and broken down the door. The neighbours had heard the abductors driving away in the direction of Urus-Martan. The applicant understood that his brother had been taken away by Russian servicemen as at the material time many young men were kidnapped in the same manner during curfew hours. In addition, other witnesses saw servicemen riding APCs in vicinity that night.  Later in the morning the applicants found the URAL trails and footprints of military boots left on the snow by the house. At around 10 a.m. on same morning some 50 to 60 Russian servicemen on several APCs and URAL lorries arrived at the Kagermanov’s house. There was a small oil refinery in their backyard. They searched the premises, threatening to blow up the house. The applicants claimed that the servicemen had carried out a sweeping-up operation in the area and searched other houses with oil refineries. The applicants have not seen Mr Ruslan Kagermanov since his abduction.