medy relied on by the Government was ineffective in the circumstances and rejects their objection.
124. In the light of the foregoing, the Court finds that the authorities failed to carry out an effective criminal investigation into the circumstances surrounding the disappearance of Abu Zhanalayev and Sayd-Selim Benuyev, in breach of Article 2 of the Convention in its procedural aspect.
III. Alleged violation of Article 3 of the Convention
125. The applicants complained that, at the moment of their abduction and after it, Abu Zhanalayev and Sayd-Selim Benuyev were subjected to ill-treatment. The second applicant also complained that she had been beaten by the men who had abducted her brother. The applicants further claimed that, as a result of the disappearance of their relatives and the State's failure to investigate the crimes properly, they had endured profound mental suffering. They relied on Article 3 of the Convention, which reads:
"No one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment."
A. The parties' submissions
126. The Government disagreed with these allegations and argued that the investigation had not established that Abu Zhanalayev and Sayd-Selim Benuyev had been subjected to inhuman or degrading treatment prohibited by Article 3 of the Convention. The second applicant had not brought her grievance concerning her alleged beating to the attention of the domestic authorities and thus had failed to exhaust available domestic remedies. The Government further argued that the applicants' mental suffering could not be imputable to the State.
127. The applicants stated that they had informed the domestic authorities about the second applicant's beating and maintained their complaints.
B. The Court's assessment
1. Admissibility
(a) The complaint concerning ill-treatment of Abu Zhanalayev and Sayd-Selim Benuyev
128. The Court reiterates that allegations of ill-treatment must be supported by appropriate evidence. To assess this evidence, the Court adopts the standard of proof "beyond reasonable doubt" but adds that such proof may follow from the coexistence of sufficiently strong, clear and concordant inferences or of similar unrebutted presumptions of fact (see Ireland v. the United Kingdom, cited above, § 161 in fine).
129. The Court has found it established that Abu Zhanalayev and Sayd-Selim Benuyev were taken away on 24 November 2002 by Russian federal forces and that no reliable news of them has been received since. It has also found that, in view of all the known circumstances, they can be presumed dead and that the responsibility for their deaths lies with the State authorities (see paragraph 108 above). However, questions remain as to the exact way in which they died and whether they were subjected to ill-treatment following their abduction. The Court considers that the materials at its disposal do not enable it to find beyond all reasonable doubt that Abu Zhanalayev and Sayd-Selim Benuyev were ill-treated in detention. It thus finds that this part of the complaint under Article 3 of the Convention has not been substantiated.
130. It follows that this part of the complaint under Article 3 of the Convention is manifestly ill-founded and should be rejected in accordance with Article 35 §§ 3 and 4 of the Convention.
(b) The complaint concerning the second applicant's ill-treatment
131. The Court takes note of the Government's plea of non-exhaustion; however, it does not deem it necessary to establish whether the second applicant made use of available domestic remedies for the following reason.
132. The second applicant has not provided the Court with any medical evidence confirming that she sustained any injuries on th
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