the kidnapping. Nor were the applicants properly informed of the progress of the proceedings. In such circumstances, the Court considers that the applicants could not be required to challenge in court every single decision of the district prosecutor's office. Accordingly, the Court finds that the remedy cited by the Government was ineffective in the circumstances and dismisses their preliminary objection as regards the applicants' failure to exhaust domestic remedies within the context of the criminal investigation.
205. In the light of the foregoing, the Court holds that the authorities failed to carry out an effective criminal investigation into the circumstances surrounding the disappearance of Khasan Batayev, Zaur Ibragimov, Magomed Temurkayev, Rizvan Ismailov, Sayd-Ali Musayev and Kharon Musayev, in breach of Article 2 in its procedural aspect.
(ii) As regards Usman Mavluyev
206. Firstly, the Court notes that the parties disagreed as to when the crime had been brought to the authorities' attention. Having regard to the material in its possession, the Court is satisfied that the tenth applicant immediately brought the information about her husband's arrest and disappearance to the attention of the State authorities. The Court notes the tenth applicant's consistent statements to that effect, including those made to the domestic investigation authorities (see paragraph 119 above). The Court further notes that the document of 6 June 2000 bears the stamp of the FSB department for the Achkhoy-Martan district and the signature of an official of that department, that it has not been subjected to any expert examination which has found it invalid and that it has been included as part of the criminal investigation file; therefore it is unable to support the Government's challenge to its authenticity.
207. In view of this, the Court finds that the investigation into Usman Mavluyev's abduction was opened after a delay of over four years since the relevant information had been submitted to the competent authorities. The Court reiterates its above conclusions about the significance of delays in the investigation of a crime as serious as the present one (see paragraph 200 above).
208. The Court further notes that despite the delay in opening the investigation, the investigative authorities collected a sizeable body of evidence attesting to the involvement of servicemen in the crime. However, the district prosecutor's office failed to take steps to identify the military units that had been deployed at the checkpoint in question, such as, for example, contacting the archives of the Ministry of Defence (see paragraph 64 above), or taking other relevant actions to pursue this lead, such as identifying and questioning senior military or security officers who had been in charge of the operation in Grozny on the day in question.
209. The Court also notes the numerous decisions to adjourn and resume the investigation, resulting in periods of inactivity when no proceedings were pending. For the same reasons as above (see paragraph 204), the Court finds that the Government's objection as to non-exhaustion of domestic remedies in the context of the criminal investigation should be dismissed.
210. In the light of the foregoing, the Court holds that the authorities failed to carry out an effective criminal investigation into the circumstances surrounding Usman Mavluyev's disappearance, in breach of Article 2 in its procedural aspect.
V. Alleged violation of Article 3 of the Convention
211. The applicants relied on Article 3 of the Convention, submitting that as a result of their relatives' disappearance and the State's failure to investigate it properly, they had endured mental suffering in breach of Article 3 of the Convention. Article 3 reads:
"No one shall be subjected
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