the remedy relied on by the Government was ineffective in the circumstances and dismisses their objection in this regard.
120. The Government also mentioned, in the context of the exhaustion of domestic remedies, that the applicants had the opportunity to apply for judicial review of the decisions of the investigating authorities. The Court observes that the applicants did, in fact, make use of that remedy. However, it did not lead to the resumption of the investigation and, in any event, the effectiveness of the investigation had already been undermined in its early stages by the authorities' failure to take necessary and urgent investigative measures. In this connection the Court specifically emphasises that the first decision to suspend the investigation, issued in January 2001 and referring to the impossibility of identifying the perpetrators, was taken less than a month after the investigation had been launched. It transpires that by the time of that first suspension no measures other than the crime scene inspection had been taken (see paragraph 36 above).
121. The Court observes that the investigation was repeatedly suspended and resumed in the same way, but it appears that no significant investigative measures were taken to identify those responsible for the kidnapping. In such circumstances, the Court considers that the applicants could not be required to challenge in court every single decision of the district prosecutor's office, particularly in view of the lack of information on the developments in the investigation established above. Accordingly, the Court finds that the remedy cited by the Government was ineffective in the circumstances and dismisses their preliminary objection as regards the applicants' failure to exhaust domestic remedies within the context of the criminal investigation.
122. 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 Mayrudin Khantiyev, in breach of Article 2 in its procedural aspect. Accordingly, there has been a violation of Article 2 on this account also.
III. Alleged violation of Article 3 of the Convention
123. The applicants relied on Article 3 of the Convention, submitting that as a result of their relative's 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
124. The Government submitted that there was no indication that the applicants had been subjected to treatment contrary to Article 3 of the Convention. They also argued that in the absence of evidence of the involvement of State authorities in the disappearance of Mayrudin Khantiyev, there was no causal link between the applicants' alleged suffering and the actions of representatives of the State.
125. The applicants maintained their submissions.
B. The Court's assessment
1. Admissibility
126. The Court notes that this complaint under Article 3 of the Convention 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
127. The Court observes that the question whether a member of the family of a "disappeared person" is a victim of treatment contrary to Article 3 will depend on the existence of special factors which give the suffering of the applicant a dimension and character distinct from the emotional distress which may be regarded as inevitably caused to
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