the two men's arrest and alleged release. It notes, for example, that the head of the district detachment of the Ministry of the Interior, Mr D.A., indicated that Shamad Durdiyev had been detained at about 5.30 p.m. on the road between Goragorsk and Grozny. At the same time, the registration log of the Nadterechny ROVD, as cited in the Government's observations, indicated that both detainees had been delivered there at 10 a.m. and transferred to the FSB at the same time (see paragraphs 39 and 44 above). The investigation failed to explain why Shamad Durdiyev's service vehicle, in which he had arrived in Nagornoye, had remained at the local department of the FSB and was eventually transferred to the Grozny town prosecutor's office intact, where it was examined in November 2002 (see paragraph 41).
72. The Court also notes that even though the applicants were granted victim status in the investigations concerning the abduction of their relatives, they were only informed of the suspension and resumption of the proceedings, and not of any other significant developments. Accordingly, the investigation failed to receive the required level of public scrutiny, or to safeguard the interests of the next of kin in the proceedings.
73. 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 Usman Umalatov and Shamad Durdiyev, in breach of Article 2 in its procedural aspect.
IV. Alleged violation of Article 3 of the Convention
74. 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 to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment."
A. The parties' submissions
75. The Government disagreed with these allegations and argued that the investigation had not established that the applicants had been subjected to inhuman or degrading treatment prohibited by Article 3 of the Convention. They also pointed out that it has not been established that the State was responsible for the disappearances.
76. In their observations the applicants reiterated the complaint concerning the mental suffering endured.
B. The Court's assessment
1. Admissibility
77. The Court notes that this complaint is not manifestly ill-founded within the meaning of Article 35 § 3 of the Convention. It further notes that it is not inadmissible on any other grounds. It must therefore be declared admissible.
2. Merits
78. The Court has found on many occasions that in a situation of enforced disappearance close relatives of the victims may themselves be victims of treatment in violation of Article 3. The essence of such a violation does not mainly lie in the fact of the "disappearance" of the family member but rather concerns the authorities' reactions and attitudes to the situation when it is brought to their attention (see Orhan v. Turkey, No. 25656/94, § 358, 18 June 2002, and Imakayeva, cited above, § 164).
79. In the present case the Court notes that the applicants are close relatives of the disappeared persons. The first and second applicants themselves witnessed the arrest of Usman Umalatov. For almost seven years they have not had any news of the missing men. During this period the applicants have made enquiries to various official bodies, both in writing and in person, about their missing relatives. Despite their attempts, the applicants have never received any plausible explanation or information about what became of them following t
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