Постановление Европейского суда по правам человека от 22.07.2010 <Дело Бенуева и другие (Benuyeva and others) против России» [англ.]

emen's implication in the crime (see paragraphs 65 and 67 above).
102. The Court therefore considers that the fact that a large group of armed men in uniform equipped with paramilitary vehicles was able to move freely through Martan-Chu and to arrest the two men strongly supports the applicants' version of an involvement of State servicemen in their relatives' kidnapping.
103. The Court reiterates that where the applicant makes out a prima facie case and the Court is prevented from reaching factual conclusions owing to the lack of documents withheld by the Government, it is for the latter to argue conclusively why the documents in question cannot serve to corroborate the allegations made by the applicant, or to provide a satisfactory and convincing explanation of how the events in question occurred. The burden of proof is thus shifted to the Government, and if they fail in their arguments, issues will arise under Article 2 and/or Article 3 (see {Togcu} v. Turkey, No. 27601/95, § 95, 31 May 2005, and Akkum and Others v. Turkey, No. 21894/93, § 211, ECHR 2005-II).
104. In their observations on the admissibility and merits of the present application the Government seemed to raise doubts as to the credibility of the first applicant's statements, as well as those by Khasmagomed Dzhanalayev, concerning the factual circumstances of the abduction of Abu Zhanalayev and Sayd-Selim Benuyev. The Court notes in this connection that the crucial elements underlying the applicants' submissions as to the facts have not been disputed by the Government. The Government did not dispute that the abduction of the applicants' relatives had actually been committed by a group of armed men at the time stated by the applicants. This fact was confirmed by the official investigation conducted by the district prosecutor's office. The Court finds that the inconsistencies pointed out by the Government in the applicants' description of events are so insignificant that they cannot cast doubt on the overall credibility of the applicants' submission.
105. Taking into account the above elements, the Court is satisfied that the applicants have made a prima facie case that Abu Zhanalayev and Sayd-Selim Benuyev were arrested by State servicemen. The Government's statement that the investigation did not find any evidence to support the involvement of the State agencies in the abduction is insufficient to discharge them from the above-mentioned burden of proof. Drawing inferences from the Government's failure to submit the documents which were in their exclusive possession or to provide another plausible explanation for the events in question, the Court considers that Abu Zhanalayev and Sayd-Selim Benuyev were abducted on 24 November 2002 by State servicemen during an unacknowledged security operation.
106. The Court has to decide further whether Abu Zhanalayev and Sayd-Selim Benuyev are to be considered dead. It notes in this regard that there has been no reliable news of the missing men since 24 November 2002. Their names have not been found in any official records of detention facilities. Lastly, the Government did not submit any explanation as to what happened to them after the abduction.
107. Having regard to the previous cases concerning disappearances of people in the Chechen Republic which have come before the Court (see, for example, Imakayeva, cited above, and Luluyev and Others v. Russia, No. 69480/01, ECHR 2006-XIII), the Court considers that, in the context of the conflict in the Chechen Republic, when a person is detained by unidentified servicemen without any subsequent acknowledgement of the detention, this can be regarded as life-threatening. The absence of Abu Zhanalayev and Sayd-Selim Benuyev or any news of them for over six years corroborates this assumption.
108. Accordingly, the Court finds it established that on 24 November



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