therefore has to assess the effectiveness of the investigation on the basis of the documents submitted by the parties and the information about its progress presented by the Government.
129. The Court notes that the authorities were immediately made aware of the crime by the applicants' submissions. The investigation in case No. 22054 was instituted on 4 April 2003, that is two days after Artur Akhmatkhanov's abduction. Further, within the first two months of the investigation, where crucial action has to be taken as soon as possible, the investigators took only two actions (see paragraphs 43 and 44 above). Such a postponement per se was liable to negatively affect the investigation of the kidnapping in life-threatening circumstances and negate the chances for its possible solution at a later date. From the documents submitted by the Government it is clear that a number of the most essential steps had not been taken by the investigators at all or that they had been taken with irreparable delays and only after the investigation had been criticised by the supervising prosecutors (see paragraphs 44, 45, 50, 61, 66, 76, 85, 86, 88 and 93 above). In spite of the numerous concurring witness statements to this effect (see paragraphs 40, 42, 48, 49, 52, 53, 54 - 57, 64, 68, 72 - 74 and 91 above), it does not appear that the investigators tried to question the officers of the Shali law-enforcement agencies or the military commander's office about their possible involvement in the abduction or that they took any measures to identify the APCs used by the abductors and question their drivers. It is obvious that these investigative measures, if they were to produce any meaningful results, should have been taken immediately after the crime was reported to the authorities, and as soon as the investigation had begun. Such delays, for which there has been no explanation in the instant case, not only demonstrate the authorities' failure to act of their own motion but also constitute a breach of the obligation to exercise exemplary diligence and promptness in dealing with such a serious crime (see {Oneryildiz} v. Turkey [GC], No. 48939/99, § 94, ECHR 2004-XII).
130. The Court also notes that even though the first and second applicants were granted victim status in the investigation concerning the abduction of their son, they were only informed of the suspension and resumption of the proceedings, and not of any other significant developments. Accordingly, the investigators failed to ensure that the investigation received the required level of public scrutiny, or to safeguard the interests of the next of kin in the proceedings.
131. Finally, the Court notes that the investigation was adjourned and resumed at least nine times and that there were lengthy periods of inactivity on the part of the district prosecutor's office when no proceedings were pending. The supervising prosecutors criticised deficiencies in the proceedings and ordered remedial measures, but their instructions were not complied with.
132. The Government argued that the applicants could have sought judicial review of the decisions of the investigating authorities in the context of the exhaustion of domestic remedies. The Court observes that the applicants, having no access to the case file and not being properly informed of the progress of the investigation, could not have effectively challenged acts or omissions of investigating authorities before a court. Furthermore, the Court emphasises in this respect that while the adjourning or reopening of proceedings is not in itself a sign that the proceedings are ineffective, in the present case the decisions to adjourn were made without the necessary investigative steps being taken, which led to numerous periods of inactivity and thus unnecessary protraction. Moreover, owing to the time that had elapsed since the events complained of, certain investigative measures that ou
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