nts' allegation that these were State servicemen conducting a security operation. In their application to the authorities the applicants consistently maintained that Aslan and Aslanbek Tasatayev had been detained by unknown servicemen and requested the investigation to look into that possibility (see paragraphs 24, 27, 34 and 55 above).
72. The Government questioned the credibility of the applicants' statements in view of their alleged failure to inform the domestic investigators about the UAZ vehicle and the dog used by the abductors. However, as it can be seen from the town court's decision (see paragraph 55 above), the applicants did inform the investigators about these elements. The Court further notes in this respect that no other elements underlying the applicants' submissions of facts have been disputed by the Government.
73. The Court observes that where the applicants make out a prima facie case and the Court is prevented from reaching factual conclusions owing to a lack of relevant documents, it is for the Government to argue conclusively why the documents in question cannot serve to corroborate the allegations made by the applicants, or to provide a satisfactory and convincing explanation of how the events in question occurred. The burden of proof is thus shifted to the Government and if they fail in their arguments, issues will arise under Article 2 and/or Article 3 (see {Togcu} v. Turkey, No. 27601/95, § 95, 31 May 2005, and Akkum and Others v. Turkey, No. 21894/93, § 211, ECHR 2005-II).
74. Taking into account the above elements, the Court is satisfied that the applicants have made a prima facie case that their relatives were abducted by State servicemen. The Government's statement that the investigators had not found any evidence to support the involvement of the special 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 applicants, and drawing inferences from the Government's failure to submit any of the documents which were in their exclusive possession or to provide any plausible explanation for the events in question, the Court finds that Aslan and Aslanbek Tasatayev were arrested on 1 June 2001 by State servicemen during an unacknowledged security operation.
75. There has been no reliable news of Aslan and Aslanbek Tasatayev since the date of their abduction. Their names have not been found in any official detention facility records. Finally, the Government have not submitted any explanation as to what happened to them after their arrest.
76. 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-... (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 Aslan and Aslanbek Tasatayev or of any news of them for more than eight years supports this assumption.
77. Accordingly, the Court finds that the evidence available permits it to establish that Aslan and Aslanbek Tasatayev must be presumed dead following their unacknowledged detention by State servicemen.
III. Alleged violation of Article 2 of the Convention
78. The applicants complained under Article 2 of the Convention that their relatives had been deprived of their lives by Russian servicemen and that the domestic authorities had failed
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