s only fifty metres from the district military commander's office and that several checkpoints were located in the vicinity. In December 2000 only State representatives were allowed to carry weapons and to wear uniforms. If the abductors were rebels and not State agents it was unclear why the soldiers had not tried to stop them. Furthermore, had they been rebels their attack should have entailed a reaction on the part of the authorities but there was no evidence that such a thing had happened.
88. The applicants further argued that their relative should be presumed dead following his unacknowledged detention because he had disappeared in a life-threatening situation and there had been no news of him for over eight years.
89. The authorities had failed to conduct an effective investigation into the disappearance of Mayrudin Khantiyev. Although the authorities had inspected the crime scene on 5 December 2000, they had waited until 27 December 2000 to launch the investigation. The authorities had failed to question all witnesses properly and had done nothing to try to elucidate the discrepancies in their statements. The investigation has been dragging on for eight years without result and the third applicant was not granted victim status until 20 January 2001. The applicants had not been provided with sufficient information on the progress in the investigation.
B. The Court's assessment
1. Admissibility
90. The Court reiterates, in the light of the parties' submissions, that the complaint raises serious issues of fact and law under the Convention, the determination of which requires an examination of the merits. Further, the Court has already found that the Government's objection concerning the alleged non-exhaustion of domestic criminal remedies should be joined to the merits of the complaint (see paragraph 82 above). The complaint under Article 2 must therefore be declared admissible.
2. Merits
(a) The alleged violation of the right to life of Mayrudin Khantiyev
(i) General principles
91. The Court reiterates that, in the light of the importance of the protection afforded by Article 2, it must subject deprivations of life to the most careful scrutiny, taking into consideration not only the actions of State agents but also all the surrounding circumstances. Detained persons are in a vulnerable position and the obligation on the authorities to account for the treatment of a detained individual is particularly stringent where that individual dies or disappears thereafter (see, among other authorities, Orhan v. Turkey, No. 25656/94, § 326, 18 June 2002, and the authorities cited therein). Where the events in issue lie wholly, or in large part, within the exclusive knowledge of the authorities, as in the case of persons within their control in detention, strong presumptions of fact will arise in respect of injuries and death occurring during that detention. Indeed, the burden of proof may be regarded as resting on the authorities to provide a satisfactory and convincing explanation (see Salman v. Turkey [GC], No. 21986/93, § 100, ECHR 2000-VII, and {Cakici} v. Turkey [GC], No. 23657/94, § 85, ECHR 1999-IV).
(ii) Establishment of the facts
92. The Court observes that 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). The Court 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, § 161, Series A No. 25).
93. The applicants alleged that on 4 December 2000 Mayrudin Khantiyev had been abducted by Russian servicemen and then disappe
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