ECHR Cases from the North Caucasus

Muslim Saydulkhanov worked as a security guard for the Argun district department of the interior ("the ROVD") in the building of the Vedeno district pension fund. In the evening of 13 January 2004 Muslim Saydulkhanov disappeared from the place of his work. In February 2004 officers from the Vedeno ROVD who were working there on mission from the Perm region of Russia provided the applicant with information about her son's abduction. According to the officers, on 13 January 2004 servicemen from 'Vostok' battalion in an UAZ minivan) had arrested Muslim Saydulkhanov on the street and taken him to the military commander's office where he had been detained between 13 and 16 January 2004. Two officers from the Vedeno ROVD, Mr V.St, and Mr P.K., had also participated in the arrest. At some point later a servicemen from 'Vostok' battalion visited the applicant's fellow villager Ms R.V. and told her that he had been detained in a basement in Gudermes together with Muslim Saydulkhanov. He had never been seen since. The investigation about this case has not given any results.

On 26 May 2007 Ms Eneyeva was at a local market in Nalchik. One of the stall-holders  suspected that Ms Eneyeva was planning to steal a skirt from her market stall. The police arrived and arrested Ms Eneyeva on suspicion of theft. Admittedly, in the police office Ms Eneyeva jumped out of the window in an attempt to escape from police custody. She was immediately then taken to hospital by ambulance to for urgent surgery. At 10.45 p.m. on 26 May 2007 Ms Eneyeva died of complex internal injuries to her head, body and extremities. The applicant complained that her daughter had been thrown from the window by police officers and that no meaningful investigation into those circumstances had been carried out. She relied on Article 2 of the Convention.

At the material time Apti and Said-Emi Islamovy worked at the department of the interior of the Zavodskoy district, Grozny, Chechnya. On 14 October 2000 the brothers and two other men were driving the car GAZ-3102 from Grozny to Urus-Martin. Their car was stopped at 116 checkpoint near the village Chernorechye. At about 6 p.m. two APCs and two UAZ vehicles with a group of armed servicemen arrived at the checkpoint. The servicemen in APCs, who were wearing black masks, threatened to shoot the ROVD colleagues of the detained men and forced them to leave the place. The four arrested men, including Apti and Said-Emi Islamov, remained at the checkpoint and gone missing since. The investigation into this fact has no  result.

On 6 March 2001 Mauda Mezhiyev was driving his bus in Grozny. His wife Kisa Mezhiyeva also worked on the bus. The bus passed the military check point at the bridge over Sunzha and started driving forward when there was a powerful explosion under its left front wheel. Mauda and Kisa as well as several passengers were injured. The servicemen at the checkpoint did not let anyone approach the bus. When an ambulance tried to get through the servicemen started firing shots in the air. The injured had to be carried from the bus to the ambulance. In the time that elapsed, Mauda lost a lot of blood and he died shortly after arriving at the hospital.

On 7 May 2002 at around 4 a.m. masked and camouflaged servicemen with machineguns and rubber truncheons arrived in two APCs and a UAZ car in the village of Avtury. They split in two groups of up to ten and broke into the two houses. The servicemen spoke unaccented Russian. They took Aslan Ireziyev and Khaseyn Suleymanov to the backyard, locking the remaining family members inside. Having checked Aslan’s and Khaseyn’s passports, the servicemen pulled sacks over their heads and put them in one of the APCs. At dawn the applicants, together with the head of the Avtury administration, followed the tracks left by the vehicles. They found that one of the APCs had entered the premises of the Avtury collective farm (совхоз Автуринский), where a Russian military base was located, and the other one had headed for Shali. The servicemen and the head of the Shali administration denied having seen the vehicles. On 13 May 2002 Mr Salambek Bisultanov, the deputy head of the Shali district department of fight against organised crime, informed the applicants that Aslan and Khaseyn had been brought to the Main Federal Military Base in Khankala, and promised to arrange their release at 5 p.m. in Argun. At the specified time four camouflaged servicemen brought Khaseyn in a UAZ car. They promised to set Aslan free on the following day, which did not happen. Later Mr Bisultanov told the applicants that they had not managed to obtain Aslan’s release. According to Khaseyn, after the arrest the servicemen took him and Aslan to the Avtury collective farm. There they were put in a UAZ car, handed over to other servicemen and driven away, passing through several roadblocks. At a certain point the servicemen stopped and placed Aslan and Khaseyn in a cellar. The servicemen introduced themselves as officers of the Special Task Police Unit (the OMON) of St Petersburg. They questioned Aslan and Khaseyn about involvement in rebel groups and beat them up. The applicants have not seen Mr Aslan Ireziyev since his abduction on 7 May 2002.

On 28 June 2001 Vakhit Gambulatov and his fellow villager Ramzan Salamov were arrested by the Russian servicemen at the checkpoint located between villages of Centoroy and Bachi-Yurt, Chechnya. They were taken in an APC to the military commander's office of the Kurchaloy district. The duty military officers confirmed that Vakhit had been detained there. The mother of Vakhit had been bringing food and clean clothes for him for 15 days. Then she was told by the that Vakhit had been moved to other place of detention. The applicant's son has not been seen or heard of  since that. The investigation into his disappearance has not been meaningful.  

At about midnight on the night between 25 and 26 April 2005 a group of servicemen burst into the home of the Zhebrailov family in the village of Gekhi. They violently apprehended Balavdi Zhebrailov and his brother Salavdi, put them in an UAZ vehicle and drove off. The servicemen continued to beat up the brothers inside the car. The car eventually stopped and they were taken to separate cells in a basement where the beating continued. Later on that night, the brothers were transported to the premises of the 2nd regiment of the road police of the Ministry of the Interior of the Chechen Republic. At some point the car stopped and Salavdi was thrown outside. He returned home in the morning. Balavdi is missing since.

The applicant complained that he had been ill-treated by the police and that there had been no effective investigation into the matter.

On 23 March 2002 Arbi and Ilman Yusupovy were driving over Gudermes city, Chechnya, when their car was stopped by the Russian servicemen.  The brothers were forced to take a seat in an APC, their heads were put by  the sacks on  and they were taken to the checkpoint and then transferred to an unknown place. The brothers were detained in a basement and questioned about members of illegal armed groups. Ilman Yusupov was released in 5 days, but Arbi Yusupov disappeared. The investigation on this fact has no result.

On 10 July 2009 Ms Albakova’s son was allegedly taken from the family home by a group of armed men, speaking Russian, Chechen and Ingush following a passport check of all the family members present. Eleven days later Ms Albakova discovered on the internet that her son had been shot dead by Russian servicemen during a counter-terrorist operation in a forest close to Arshty, a village in the Ingushetiya Republic. Her son’s body was subsequently returned to her with multiple injuries, including gunshot and stab wounds, fractured bones, burns, bruises and a partially severed arm. An initial inquiry was conducted and then, in August 2009, an official criminal investigation was officially opened, which eventually concluded in May 2012 that Batyr Albakov, a member of an illegal armed group, had died in an exchange of gunfire with a Russian military unit

In September 2002 Urus-Martan was under curfew and surrounded by Russian military checkpoints. A number of law-enforcement and administrative authorities, including a military commander’s office, were situated in the town. On 5 September 2002 between 2 and 3 a.m. an APC and two URAL lorries arrived at the applicants’ block of flats. A group of up to forty servicemen in masks and camouflage uniforms got out of the vehicles. Up to fifteen of them stormed into the applicants’ flat. They spoke unaccented Russian. After locking Mr Mayrbek’s father in the kitchen and threatening his brother with a machinegun, the servicemen checked the identity documents of the other family members. Then searched Mayrbek, asked for his passport and told the relatives that they were taking him to the military commander’s office. Through the windows the applicants saw the servicemen beating Mayrbek while dragging him, with a plastic bag over his head, to Lenina Street, where they forced him in one of the vehicles and drove away. On the same morning the 1st applicant went to the Urus-Martan district prosecutor’s office and the district department of the interior (the ROVD) to report the abduction. Mayrbek’s parents contacted the local and the district administration. The applicants have not seen Mr Mayrbek Minayev since his abduction on 5 September 2002.

On 5 November 2002 between 5 and 6 a.m. a group of armed servicemen in camouflage uniforms broke into the applicants’ house in Achkhoy-Martan. Those who were unmasked were of Slavic appearance. They spoke Russian. The servicemen locked the 1st applicant, her husband and kids in a room. Then, after searching the house, they dragged Mr Ibragim Dzhabrailov outside in his underwear, put him in an APC and drove away. The APC was accompanied by a UAZ “tabletka” minivan and a URAL lorry. Later in the morning the applicants informed about the abduction the Achkhoy-Martan district military commander’s office, the local administration and the police. The military commander’s office acknowledged that they had detained Ibragim and promised to release him later on the same day. However, the applicants’ relative was not released. At some point later the applicants were told that Ibragim had been taken away by servicemen from Grozny. The applicants have not seen Mr Ibragim Dzhabrailov since his abduction on 5 November 2002.

On 24 September 2001 armed servicemen of the federal forces carried out a special operation in Alkhazurovo. At around 4 a.m. a group of servicemen broke into the Shavanovs’ family house, beat family members, including the applicant, and took away Mr Mayrbek Shavanov and Mr Aslambek Shavanov. The intruders used a UAZ car and a URAL lorry belonging to the local police station and two KAMAZ lorries. At some point Mr G.A. Gadzhiyev, an officer of the Urus-Martan district military commander’s office unofficially acknowledged that the missing brothers were being held at the district FSB office situated on the 3rd floor of the military commander’s office. The applicant has not seen Mayrbek and Aslambek Shavanov since their abduction on 24 September 2001.

On 30 October 2001 the town of Goyty was under curfew. At around 4 a.m. a group of ten masked and armed servicemen in camouflage uniforms and bullet-proof vests broke into the applicants’ house. The servicemen, who spoke unaccented Russian, had arrived in two APCs, a URAL and two UAZ cars. They handcuffed Mr Khasan Khadzhiyev, checked his documents, took him into one of UAZ cars and drove away in the direction of Urus-Martan. On the same night at around 4 a.m. the servicemen broke into a neighbouring house. They checked the documents of Mr Khusseyn Magomadov, but did not take him away. In about seven days after the abduction the 1st applicant was informed that her brother was detained at the Urus-Martan district military commander’s office and that he would be released after a check. The applicants have not seen Mr Khasan Khadzhiyev since his abduction on 30 October 2001.

The applicant was arrested on 1 June 2013 on suspicion of organised aggravated murder and attempted murder of State officials. On the following day the Basmanniy District Court of Moscow ordered the applicant’s detention pending trial, citing the gravity of the charges against him and the risk that he might abscond, interfere with the investigation, in particular influence witnesses, and reoffend. The District Court dismissed the applicant’s arguments pertaining to his poor state of health. The applicant complained that he was unable to obtain effective medical care while in detention, which had led to a serious deterioration in his condition, put him in a life-threatening situation and subjected him to severe physical and mental suffering, in violation of the guarantees of Article 3 of the Convention.

Ms Milana Ozdoyeva (1982) was abducted on 19 January 2004 in Katyr-Yurt, Chechnya. On 29 January 2004 the Achkhoy-Martan district prosecutor’s office opened criminal case no. 38004. The investigation is still pending.

Mr Ruslan Yandiyev (1982) was abducted on 29 September 2005 in Nazran, Ingushetia. On 9 October 2005 the Nazran town prosecutor’s office opened criminal case no. 05560115. The investigation is still pending.

On 12 October 2001 at around 7.30 a.m. a group of masked servicemen in camouflage uniforms, armed with machineguns, stormed into the applicants’ house in Argun. They woke up Mr Timerlan Cholayev, handcuffed him and took him outside. There they put him in one of their two APCs without registration numbers and departed to an unknown destination. On the same day an officer of the Argun district military commander’s office acknowledged that Timerlan had been arrested by their forces and then taken to the Main Federal Military Base in Khankala. The applicants have not seen Mr Timerlan Cholayev since his abduction on 12 October 2001.

Around 2 a.m. on 4 May 2003 several armed servicemen broke into the family home of Anzor Idigov. The soldiers grabbed Anzor from his bed, who was undressed and barefoot, covered his mouth with adhesive tape, took him outside. He was driven off in an unknown direction. His family has not seen him since. The official investigation into his disappearance failed to produce any tangible results.

From December 1999 onwards the village of Shalazhi was under the effective control of the Russian military forces. At around 8 p.m. on 3 November 2002 Rustam Amerkhanov left to visit his friend A., who was living nearby. Rustam's mother, Dzayanu Amerkhanova waited for her son to return home all that night, but by the the morning of 4 November 2002  he had not come home. Immediately after his disappearance, she began searching for her son and visited the commander of the district unit of the special forces of the Ministry of the Interior of the Russian Federation (OMON). The commander confirmed that his unit had arrested Rustam and that he had transferred him to the second OMON unit. The head of the second OMON unit claimed that Rustam had been released in the morning of 4 November 2002. Mrs. Dzayanu Amerkhanova never saw her son again. The investigation into the disappearance of Rustam Amerkhanov has been pending since 2002.