fied that the applicant has made a prima facie case that her son was taken away by State servicemen. The Government's statement that the investigators had not found any evidence to support the involvement of the federal forces in the kidnapping or their general reference to the possibility of illegal insurgents' involvement in the crime is insufficient to discharge them from the above-mentioned burden of proof. Having examined the documents submitted by the applicant, and drawing inferences from the Government's failure to submit the remaining documents which were in their exclusive possession or to provide another plausible explanation for the events in question, the Court finds that Vakhit Dzhabrailov was arrested on 3 January 2003 by State servicemen during an unacknowledged security operation.
61. There has been no reliable news of Vakhit Dzhabrailov since the date of the kidnapping. His name has not been found in any official detention facility records. Finally, the Government have not submitted any explanation as to what happened to him after his arrest.
62. Having regard to the previous cases concerning disappearances in Chechnya which have come before it (see, among others, Bazorkina, cited above; Imakayeva, cited above; Luluyev and Others v. Russia, No. 69480/01, ECHR 2006-XIII (extracts); Baysayeva v. Russia, No. 74237/01, 5 April 2007; Akhmadova and Sadulayeva, cited above; and Alikhadzhiyeva v. Russia, No. 68007/01, 5 July 2007), the Court finds that in the context of the conflict in the Republic, when a person is detained by unidentified servicemen without any subsequent acknowledgment of the detention, this can be regarded as life-threatening. The absence of Vakhit Dzhabrailov or of any news of him for more than six years supports this assumption.
63. Accordingly, the Court finds that the evidence available permits it to establish that Vakhit Dzhabrailov must be presumed dead following his unacknowledged detention by State servicemen.
III. Alleged violation of Article 2 of the Convention
64. The applicant complained under Article 2 of the Convention that her son had been deprived of his life by Russian servicemen and that the domestic authorities had failed to carry out an effective investigation of the matter. Article 2 reads:
"1. Everyone's right to life shall be protected by law. No one shall be deprived of his life intentionally save in the execution of a sentence of a court following his conviction of a crime for which this penalty is provided by law.
2. Deprivation of life shall not be regarded as inflicted in contravention of this article when it results from the use of force which is no more than absolutely necessary:
(a) in defence of any person from unlawful violence;
(b) in order to effect a lawful arrest or to prevent the escape of a person lawfully detained;
(c) in action lawfully taken for the purpose of quelling a riot or insurrection."
A. The parties' submissions
65. The Government contended that the domestic investigation had obtained no evidence to the effect that Vakhit Dzhabrailov was dead or that any servicemen of the federal law-enforcement agencies had been involved in his kidnapping or alleged killing. The Government claimed that the investigation into the kidnapping of the applicant's son met the Convention requirement of effectiveness, as all measures available under national law were being taken to identify those responsible.
66. The applicant argued that Vakhit Dzhabrailov had been detained by State servicemen and should be presumed dead in the absence of any reliable news of him for more than six years. The applicant also argued that the investigation had not met the effectiveness and adequacy requirements, laid down by the Court's case-law. The applicant pointed out that the dis
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