loped a number of guiding principles to be followed for an investigation to comply with the Convention's requirements (for a summary of these principles see Bazorkina, cited above, §§ 117 - 119).
67. In the present case, the kidnapping of Sultan Khatuyev was investigated. The Court must assess whether that investigation met the requirements of Article 2 of the Convention.
68. The Court notes at the outset that the Government disclosed no documents from the investigation. It therefore has to assess its effectiveness on the basis of the few documents submitted by the applicant and the information about its progress presented by the Government.
69. The Court notes that the authorities were immediately made aware of the disappearance by the applicant. The investigation in case No. 04600054 was instituted on 20 August 2004, that is, 18 days after Sultan Khatuyev's abduction. Such a postponement per se is liable to affect the investigation of a kidnapping in life-threatening circumstances, where crucial action has to be taken in the first days after the event. It also appears that within the following days the applicant, some of her relatives and two ROVD officials were questioned. The applicant was granted victim status in August 2004. However, it appears that after that a number of crucial steps were delayed, or not taken at all. 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 commenced. 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).
70. A number of essential steps were never taken. Most notably, the Court finds it striking that by 4 June 2005 the investigators had yet failed to question the servicemen who had been directly involved in Mr Khatuyev's apprehension and alleged release (see paragraph 32 above). No documents were sought or obtained about the alleged apprehension and questioning of Mr Khatuyev. It does not appear that, apart from Mr U.I., his fellow detainees were questioned. In fact, the presentation of the events in the Government's observations seems to leave more questions than answers.
71. The Court also notes that even though the applicant was granted victim status in the investigation, she was only informed of the suspension and resumption of the proceedings, and not of any other significant developments. Thus, she learnt about her husband's alleged release from the FSB vehicle in Ordzhinikzevskaya from the Government observations submitted to the Court. Other essential information, including the dates of adjournments and suspensions of the investigation, has not been communicated to her. 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.
72. Finally, the Court notes that the investigation was adjourned and resumed on numerous occasions and that there were lengthy periods of inactivity on the part of the district prosecutor's office when no proceedings were pending. The district court criticised deficiencies in the proceedings and ordered remedial measures, but it does not appear that its instructions were complied with.
73. Having regard to the limb of the Government's preliminary objection that was joined to the merits of the complaint, inasmuch as it concerns the fact that the domestic investigation is still ongoing, the Court notes that the investigation, having being repeatedly suspended and resumed and plag
> 1 2 3 ... 8 9 10 ... 14 15 16
Zaki.ru законы и право
поиск по сайту
каталог документов
добавить сайт Zaki.ru в избранное
Правовые акты международные
Правовые акты Российской Федерации
