on to obtain redress for damage sustained through illegal acts or unlawful conduct on the part of State agents, the Court has already found in a number of similar cases that this procedure alone cannot be regarded as an effective remedy in the context of claims brought under Article 2 of the Convention (see Khashiyev and Akayeva v. Russia, Nos. 57942/00 and 57945/00, §§ 119 - 121, 24 February 2005, and Estamirov and Others, cited above, § 77). In the light of the above, the Court accepts the applicants' argument that they were not obliged to pursue civil remedies.
78. As regards criminal law remedies, the Court observes that the applicants complained to the law-enforcement authorities immediately after the abduction of Bashir Mutsolgov and that an investigation has been pending since 26 December 2003. The applicants and the Government dispute the effectiveness of this investigation.
79. The Court considers that this limb of the Government's objection raises issues concerning the effectiveness of the investigation which are closely linked to the merits of the applicants' complaints. Thus, it decides to join this objection to the merits of the case and considers that the issue falls to be examined below under the substantive provisions of the Convention.
II. Alleged violation of Article 2 of the Convention
80. The applicants complained under Article 2 of the Convention that their relative had disappeared after being detained by State agents and that the investigation into his disappearance had not been effective. 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. Submissions by the parties
1. The Government
81. The Government submitted that there was no evidence that the applicants' relative had been abducted by State agents or that he was not alive. In their opinion, the fact that the abductors wore masks and uniforms, were armed and spoke Russian did not prove that they were State agents. In any event, the applicants had not referred to insignia or other details which could have permitted to identify any particular service of the law-enforcement bodies to which the abductors would have belonged. The fact that the abductors had used private vehicles also refuted the applicants' allegation that they were State agents and rather suggested that they could have been members of illegal armed groups, who frequently passed themselves off as officials of law-enforcement agencies. In the Government's view, the applicants' relative might have been abducted by private "persons belonging to criminal structures" or for the reasons of personal feud.
82. Officer Ch.'s submission that he had identified one of the abductors as an FSB officer whom he had previously met at a crime scene during an investigation did not prove that officials of that State authority had been involved in the abduction and in any event, it had not been confirmed. According to a reply from the Ingushetiya department of the FSB, their officers had not been sent to the crime scene referred to by Ch. Furthermore, although Ch. had initially stated that he knew the presumed FSB officer, he had stated during further questioning that he would not be able to
> 1 2 3 ... 11 12 13 ... 27 28 29
Zaki.ru законы и право
поиск по сайту
каталог документов
добавить сайт Zaki.ru в избранное
Правовые акты международные
Правовые акты Российской Федерации
