civil remedies in order to exhaust domestic remedies.
B. The Court's assessment
67. The Court will examine the arguments of the parties in the light of the provisions of the Convention and its relevant practice (for a relevant summary, see Estamirov and Others v. Russia, No. 60272/00, §§ 73 - 74, 12 October 2006).
68. The Court notes that the Russian legal system provides, in principle, two avenues of recourse for victims of illegal and criminal acts attributable to the State or its agents, namely civil and criminal remedies.
69. As regards civil action to obtain redress for damage sustained through the alleged illegal acts or unlawful conduct 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 confirms that the applicants were not obliged to pursue civil remedies. The Government's objection in this regard is thus dismissed.
70. As regards criminal law remedies, the Court observes that the applicants complained to the law enforcement authorities immediately after the kidnapping of Aslambek Ismailov, Aslan Ismailov, Yaragi Ismailov, Khizir Ismailov and Yusi Daydayev, and that an investigation has been pending since 17 January 2003. The applicants and the Government dispute the effectiveness of the investigation of the kidnapping.
71. The Court considers that 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.
II. The court's assessment of the evidence
and the establishment of the facts
A. The parties' arguments
72. The applicants maintained that it was beyond reasonable doubt that the men who had taken away Aslambek Ismailov, Aslan Ismailov, Yaragi Ismailov, Khizir Ismailov and Yusi Daydayev had been State agents. In support of their complaint they referred to the following facts. At the material time Achkhoy-Martan had been under the total control of federal troops. There had been Russian military checkpoints on the roads leading to and from the settlement. The armed men who had abducted Aslambek Ismailov, Aslan Ismailov, Yaragi Ismailov, Khizir Ismailov and Yusi Daydayev spoke Russian without accent, which proved that they were not of Chechen origin. The men had arrived in military vehicles, such as APCs, which could only have been deployed at the time by representatives of the State. They had arrived at the applicants' houses late at night, which indicated that they had been able to circulate freely past curfew. The men acted in a manner similar to that of special forces carrying out identity checks. All the information disclosed from the criminal investigation file supported their assertion as to the involvement of State agents in the abduction. Since their relatives had been missing for a very lengthy period, they could be presumed dead. That presumption was further supported by the circumstances in which they had been arrested, which should be recognised as life-threatening.
73. The Government submitted that unidentified armed men had kidnapped Aslambek Ismailov, Aslan Ismailov, Yaragi Ismailov, Khizir Ismailov and Yusi Daydayev. They further contended that the investigation of the incident was pending, that there was no evidence that the men had been State agents and that therefore there were no grounds to hold the State liable for the alleged violations of the app
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