the witness statements made to the domestic investigators; but did not submit them to the Court. Finally, the Government drew the Court's attention to the fact that both men had worked for the State authorities: Shamad Durdiyev had been a driver for the Grozny town prosecutor's office and Usman Umalatov had been a member of the security service of the head of administration of Chechnya. Their respective employers were happy with them, and it could not be excluded that the illegal groups held a grudge against them.
B. The Court's evaluation of the facts
54. The Court observes that in its extensive jurisprudence it has developed a number of general principles relating to the establishment of facts in dispute, in particular when faced with allegations of disappearance under Article 2 of the Convention (for a summary of these, see Bazorkina v. Russia, No. 69481/01, §§ 103 - 109, 27 July 2006). It also notes that the conduct of the parties when evidence is being obtained has to be taken into account (see Ireland v. the United Kingdom, 18 January 1978, § 161, Series A No. 25).
55. The Court notes that despite its requests for a copy of the investigation files into the abduction of Usman Umalatov and Shamad Durdiyev, the Government produced hardly any documents. The Government referred to Article 161 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. In previous cases it has already found this explanation insufficient to justify the withholding of key information requested by the Court (see Imakayeva v. Russia, No. 7615/02, § 123, ECHR 2006-XIII (extracts)).
56. In view of this and bearing in mind the principles referred to above, the Court finds that it can draw inferences from the Government's conduct in respect of the well-foundedness of the applicants' allegations. The Court will thus proceed to examine crucial elements in the present case that should be taken into account when deciding whether the applicants' relatives can be presumed dead and whether their deaths can be attributed to the authorities.
57. The Government suggested in their submissions that Usman Umalatov and Shamad Durdiyev may have been killed or abducted by members of paramilitary groups. However, this allegation was not specific and the Government did not submit any material to support it. The Court would stress in this regard that the evaluation of the evidence and the establishment of the facts is a matter for the Court, and it is incumbent on it to decide on the evidentiary value of the documents submitted to it (see {Celikbilek} v. Turkey, No. 27693/95, § 71, 31 May 2005).
58. The parties do not dispute that on 15 October 2002 Usman Umalatov and Shamad Durdiyev were detained in Nagornoye during a security operation aimed at finding persons responsible for a terrorist act and delivered to the ROVD, from which they were transferred to the district department of the FSB. The orders of the district commander of the Ministry of the Interior and of the military commander cited "suspicion of involvement in crimes committed by illegal armed groups" as the possible grounds for detention, though no formal charges have been ever brought. It does not appear that any formal records were drawn up in relation to the detention or any other actions carried out in respect of Usman Umalatov and Shamad Durdiyev, except to note that both men had been transferred to the district department of the FSB from the ROVD premises. They have not been seen since 15 October 2002 and their families have had no news of them. The investigation failed to establish what had happened to them or to charge anyone in relation to their disappearance.
59. The Government suggested that certain documents in the criminal investigation files proved that the two men had been released. However, since none of these documents have been submitted to the Court, it is reluctant to rely on them in order t
> 1 2 3 ... 7 8 9 ... 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
