ECHR Cases from the North Caucasus

On 29 November 2002, 10 Russian military servicemen arrived at the factory where Isa and Shamil Khalidov worked and detained the two men without any explanation. Although a prosecutor's office in Ingushetia established that Isa and Shamil had been detained by a police unit from Chechnya under the command of a named officer, prosecutor's offices in Chechnya deny that this is the case. Isa and Shamil's whereabouts have not been established and nobody has been held accountable for their disappearance.

On 5 October 1999, between 7 and 9 p.m., the village of Znamenskoye, Chechnya came under heavy fire. The village was shelled by artillery positioned on the Terskiy mountain range, where Russian federal troops were stationed. Oleg Semenovich Mezhidov, Movlmat Lemayevna Mezhidova, Bislan Olegovich Mezhidov, Aminat Olegovna Mezhidova, and Svetlana Olegovna Mezhidova tried to escape but were all killed by a shell which burst in their courtyard. The official investigation into their deaths has not yielded any results.

At about 3 a.m. on 29 September 2002 a group of five armed and masked men in camouflage uniforms broke into the Akhmadov family's house in Urus-Martan. When they left they took Adnan Akhmadov, the oldest son, with them. They tied his hands, put him in an APC and drove away. Adnan has not been seen since. The investigation into his disappearance has not produced any results.

During the night of 13 November 2002, several armed men in camouflage uniform and masks broke into the house of the Takhayev family in the village of Mesker-Yurt. When they left they took Ayub Takhayev with them. The next day, the family discovered tracks from armored personnel carriers close by and several neighbors confirmed that they had seen an APC that night. The investigation into Takhayev's disappearance has produced no results. In its 10,000th judgment the European Court of Human Rights held Russia responsible for Ayub's disappearance.

In January 1995 a direct hit during an air strike destroyed Bilkis Magomadova's house in Grozny, Chechnya. In September 1999 air bombings destroyed Mariyat Magomadova's flat and her house in Grozny, Chechnya. The prosecutor refused to open a criminal case into the bombings. The Magomadova family was later denied any compensation as, according to Russian law, the State is only liable in respect of damage caused by its agents acting unlawfully.

On 8 March 2005 the FSB conducted a special operation in the village of Tolstoy-Yurt. The operation resulted in the arrest of four individuals. According to the authorities, they also discovered a corpse bearing signs of a violent death. The corpse was later identified as that of Aslan Maskhadov (one of the military and political leaders of the Chechen separatist movement during and after the armed conflict of 1994-96). Russian authorities refused to return the body to his relatives for funeral. The investigation into the circumstances of his death has not led to any results.

On 5 February 2000, about 50 military servicemen arrived on armored personnel vehicles (APCs) and started checking documents at Zabolotny Lane in the city of Grozny. They detained Yakub Iznaurov together with four other people. Russian soldiers ordered Yakub to undress to his waist, tied his hands behind his back with a metal wire and pulled a cap over his face. They forced him to kneel for two hours in the cold before taking him away. Yakub and three of the detainees subsequently disappeared while the fourth man was released.

On 27 May 2000, around 6 a.m., a group of Russian military servicemen entered the house of Ruslan Umarov in Grozny. The servicemen searched the house and dragged Umarov out to the courtyard. They started to kick him and beat him with rifle butts. As Umarov's son, Magomed Umarov, tried to stop the beating, he was himself seized, beaten and finally forced into a vehicle. The following day, the men returned to collect Magomed Umarov's passport and identity card. Magomed Umarov has been missing since. Released detainees have however stated that they have seen him at the Khankala military base. The official investigation has not produced any tangible results.

On 13 February 2002, a group of armed military servicemen broke into the house of the Khumaidov family in the village of Makhketi. When the servicemen left, they took Magomed and Kharon Khumaidov with them. Witnesses observed that Magomed and Kharon were taken to the building of the Federal Security Service in Khatuni. Even though the prosecutor's office subsequently determined that the 45th regiment had been involved in the abduction, the investigation has failed to hold anybody accountable.

During a 2 July 2001 sweep operation in Sernovodsk  Russian troops detained hundreds of men  including Apti Isigov and Zelimkhan Umkhanov. Most men were released the same evening but Isigov and Umkhanov disappeared. The official investigation identifed the commander of the detachment involved in the operation and even the crew of the vehicle in which Apti and Zelimkhan were taken away. Yet, however, the investigation was repeatedly suspended on grounds of the failure to identify the alleged perpetrator

On 3 May 2001, during a large-scale special operation in the village of Tsa-Vedeno, Russian federal forces detained Ramzan Kukuev. Ramzan and two other men detained in the operation subsequently disappeared. Although their relatives immediately informed the authorities about the arrests, a criminal investigation was not launched until 25 November 2001.

In the early morning of 9 June 2002 the Elmurzayev's house in Martan-Chu was surrounded by Russian servicemen, who arrived in armed cars. They blind-folded Apti Elmurzayev and led him away, shooting at another family member as they drove away. On 27 January 2003 Russian soldiers again broke into the Elmurzayevs' house and abducted Apti's brother Musa, who led the family's search for Apti. There has been no news of the brothers since their abduction.

In the middle of the night on 24 January 2003, Musa and Magamed Gaitayev were both detained at their houses in Urus-Martan by Russian military servicemen. Magamed recognized the Urus-Martan military commander as one of their abductors. Magamed was released the same day after being beaten and drugged but Musa has since disappeared.  Despite Musa's family's efforts to locate him, the investigation into his disappearance has been inconclusive and is currently suspended.

On the night of 25 to 26 April 2003 Russian military servicemen broke into the Betayevs’ home in the village of Goyty and detained Lecha and Ibragim Betayev. Both men subsequently disappeared. A criminal investigation was opened into their case but it failed to produce any results.

In the early morning of 16 May 2003 about 20 Russian military servicemen forcibly entered the home of Gekhayeva, binding her eyes, nose and mouth such that she could barely breathe. After she was freed by her neighbors later that night, her house was in disarray and her daughter, Kurbika Zinabdiyeva, and another female visitor, Aminat Dugayeva, were missing. Aminat was 15 years old at the time and since birth had suffered from various medical problems. The Russian media reported on the kidnapping and, citing official sources, stated that the women had been arrested on suspicion of involvement with the 2002 siege of the Dubrovka theater in Moscow. In the course of the investigation into the women's disappearance, various law-enforcement bodies denied the involvement of federal forces in the kidnapping. Despite the applicants' active search for their relatives, and the examination of their case by the Russian Human Rights Commission, the investigation into the kidnappings was suspended without having established any concrete information as to the perpetrators of the crime.

In the early morning of 29 December 2002 a group of Russian military servicemen entered the home of Rizvan Ibragimov, searched the house and led Rizvan away, threatening his relatives with death if they tried to follow them. Several neighbors witnessed Rizvan being put into a military vehicle which drove off in the direction of Urus-Martan. Rizvan subsequently disappeared.

Early in the morning of 2 June 2002, Russian troops on armored personnel carriers and other military vehicles drove to the village Novye Atagi for a targeted military operation. The soldiers burst into the Utsayev home, detained Islam Utsayev, and drove him away in an APC. The troops then proceeded to detain Movsar Taisumov, Idris Abdulazimov and Masud Tovmerzaev in their respective homes. On this same day, troops also detained Said-Magomed Imakaev (see Imakayeva v. Russia). None of the men have been seen or heard from since. Authorities within the procuracy have provided only perfunctory responses in reply to the families' exhaustive inquiries as to the whereabouts of their relatives and the investigations into their disappearances. Beginning in July 2004, one of the families in the case suffered repeated raids on their home, during which federal forces brutally beat one elderly applicant and threatened other family members with violence and death. The family was forced to leave their home and relocate to another village, but continue to fear for the safety of their relatives.

On 12 May 2001, 20 federal servicemen arrived in armoured personnel carriers at Khadizhat Kaplanova's household in Grozny. The armed servicemen searched the house and left with Kaplanova's son, Isa Kaplanov, her son-in-law, Ruslan Sadulayev, and her neighbour. The three men were detained and interrogated at the Staropromyslovskiy military check-point. The neighbour was released after one night in custody. Kaplanov and Sadulayev were instead taken away in an all-terrain vehicle. They have not been seen since. The official investigation into their case has not produced any results.

Relying on Articles 2, 8 and 13 of the Convention and on Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 to the Convention, the applicants alleged that the national authorities were responsible for the death of Mr Budayev, for putting their lives at risk and for the destruction of their property, as a result of the authorities' failure to mitigate the consequences of a mudslide which occurred in Tyrnauz on 18-25 July 2000, and that no effective domestic remedy was provided to them in this respect.

In the early morning of 24 September 2000, a group of eight military servicemen broke into the house of the Aziyev family in Grozny, Chechnya. The servicemen kicked and beat the owner of the house, Lech Aziyev, who suffered several injuries, including a concussion and fractured ribs. The servicemen, who did not identify themselves, then proceeded to detain Lech's two sons, Lom-Ali and Umar-Ali Aziyev. They assured the family that the two sons would be released as soon as they had checked their identities. The Aziyev family has had no news of their two sons since.