on to indicate to the Court with sufficient clarity the remedies to which the applicants have not had recourse and to satisfy the Court that the remedies were effective and available in theory and in practice at the relevant time, that is to say that they were accessible, were capable of providing redress in respect of the applicant's complaints and offered reasonable prospects of success (see Cennet Ayhan and Mehmet Salih Ayhan, cited above, § 65).
66. The Court notes that the Russian legal system provides, in principle, two avenues of recourse for the victims of illegal and criminal acts attributable to the State or its agents, namely, civil and criminal remedies.
67. As regards a civil action to obtain redress for damage sustained through the alleged illegal acts or unlawful conduct of State agents, the Court has already found in a number of similar cases that this procedure alone cannot be regarded as an effective remedy in the context of claims brought under Article 2 of the Convention. A civil court is unable to pursue any independent investigation and is incapable, without the benefit of the conclusions of a criminal investigation, of making any meaningful findings regarding the identity of the perpetrators of fatal assaults or disappearances, still less of establishing their responsibility (see Khashiyev and Akayeva v. Russia, Nos. 57942/00 and 57945/00, §§ 119 - 21, 24 February 2005, and Estamirov and Others v. Russia, No. 60272/00, § 77, 12 October 2006). In the light of the above, the Court confirms that the applicant was not obliged to pursue civil remedies.
68. As regards criminal-law remedies provided for by the Russian legal system, the Court observes that the applicant complained to the law-enforcement authorities after the disappearance of her son and that an investigation has been pending since 2 June 2005. The applicant and the Government disagreed about the effectiveness of the investigation of the disappearance.
69. The Court considers that the Government's objection raises issues concerning the effectiveness of the investigation which are closely linked to the merits of the applicant's complaints and that therefore this objection should be joined to the merits and examined below.
II. The Court's assessment of the evidence
and the establishment of the facts
A. The parties' arguments
70. The applicant maintained that it was beyond reasonable doubt that the men who had abducted Said-Magamed Tovsultanov had been State agents. In support of her complaint she referred to the following facts. The abduction of Said-Magamed Tovsultanov had taken place in the settlement which was under the total control of the authorities. The abductors, who had been armed, masked and in camouflage uniforms, had driven around in five cars in the centre of Sleptsovskaya in broad daylight. Having abducted the applicant's son, they had been able to cross the checkpoint at the border of Ingushetia and Chechnya. She further stated that since her son has been missing for a very lengthy period, he could be presumed dead. That presumption was further supported by the circumstances in which he had been arrested, which should be recognised as life-threatening.
71. The Government submitted that the fact of the abduction of the applicant's son had not been confirmed by the investigation and that he might have disappeared on his own initiative or as a result of actions of third persons. They further contended that the investigation of the incident was pending, that there was no evidence that State agents could have been involved in the alleged violation of the applicant's rights. They further submitted that the law-enforcement authorities had not conducted any special operations targeting the applicant's son and that there was no convincing evidence that he was dead.
> 1 2 3 ... 8 9 10 ... 16 17 18
Zaki.ru законы и право
поиск по сайту
каталог документов
добавить сайт Zaki.ru в избранное
Правовые акты международные
Правовые акты Российской Федерации
