151. The Court further notes that the investigation concerning the discovery of the four dead bodies in the vicinity of the village of Goy-Chu, which the relatives claimed to be the disappeared detainees, was instituted only on 4 August 2006, that is, six years after the bodies were discovered in August 2000. Such an inexplicable delay could not but considerably affect the efficiency of the investigation.
152. According to the Government, after September 2006 the investigating authorities carried out a substantial number of investigative actions. In particular, they questioned numerous witnesses, including the detainees' cellmates, and sent numerous requests to various State authorities with a view to establishing their whereabouts. The Government have produced no documents to corroborate their submissions in this respect either. Accordingly, the Court cannot establish with sufficient certainty whether those measures were actually taken. However, even assuming that they were, no explanation has been provided as to why they were taken with a delay of over six years, in a situation where active investigative steps had to be taken in the first days after the events under investigation.
153. Furthermore, from the materials available to the Court it appears that a number of essential steps were never taken. Most notably, there is no information that the register of the detention facility of the Urus-Martan VOVD was ever inspected. Neither was an inspection conducted of the sites where the four bodies were discovered near the village of Goy-Chu and where they were reburied. Moreover, their exhumation has still not been carried out and, consequently, no meaningful measures for their conclusive identification have been taken, despite the decisions of the domestic courts in this respect (see paragraphs 108 and 110 above). Furthermore, there is no evidence that the officers of the Urus-Martan VOVD who held the four detainees in custody were questioned.
154. The Court observes that in the present case the investigating authorities not only failed to comply with the obligation to exercise exemplary diligence and promptness in dealing with such a serious crime (see {Oneryildiz} v. Turkey [GC], No. 48939/99, § 94, ECHR 2004-XII), but failed to take the most elementary investigative measures.
155. The Court also notes that although the first and second applicants were granted victim status shortly after the institution of the investigation, they were not informed of any significant developments in the investigation, apart from several decisions on its suspension and resumption. Accordingly, the Court finds that the investigators failed to ensure that the investigation received the required level of public scrutiny, or to safeguard the interests of the next of kin in the proceedings.
156. Finally, the Court notes that the investigation was adjourned and resumed on numerous occasions. Such handling of the investigation could not but have had a negative impact on the prospects of identifying the perpetrators and establishing the fate of Kazbek Vakhayev.
157. Having regard to the Government's preliminary objection, which was joined to the merits of the complaint, the Court notes that the investigation, having been repeatedly suspended and resumed and plagued by inexplicable delays and long periods of inactivity, has been ongoing for many years and has produced no tangible results. Accordingly, the Court finds that the remedy relied on by the Government was ineffective in the circumstances and dismisses their preliminary objection in this part.
158. In the light of the foregoing, the Court finds that the authorities failed to carry out an effective criminal investigation into the circumstances surrounding the disappearance of Kazbek Vakhayev, in breach of Article 2 under its procedural head. Accordingly, there has been a violation of Article 2 on this account also
> 1 2 3 ... 14 15 16 ... 21 22 23
Zaki.ru законы и право
поиск по сайту
каталог документов
добавить сайт Zaki.ru в избранное
Правовые акты международные
Правовые акты Российской Федерации
