Постановление Европейского суда по правам человека от 11.06.2009 «Дело Халитова и другие (Khalitova and others) против России» [англ.]

rospects of identifying the perpetrators and establishing the fate of the applicants' relatives.
124. Having regard to the limb of the Government's objection that was joined to the merits of the application, in so far as it concerns the fact that the domestic investigation is still pending, the Court notes that the investigation, having been repeatedly suspended and resumed and plagued by inexplicable delays, has been ongoing for almost eight 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 rejects their objection in this part.
125. The Government also mentioned that the applicants had the opportunity to apply for judicial review of the decisions of the investigating authorities in the context of exhaustion of domestic remedies and to complain to higher prosecutors. The Court observes that the applicants indeed did institute court proceedings, although they did not appeal against the first-instance judgment. Nonetheless, the court complaint did not impel the investigators to investigate the applicants' allegations thoroughly. The applicants also complained on several occasions to higher prosecutors such as the prosecutor's office of the Chechen Republic and the UGA prosecutor's office, but in vain. Moreover, owing to the time that had elapsed since the events complained of, certain investigative steps that ought to have been carried out much earlier could no longer be usefully conducted. The Court finds therefore that it is highly doubtful that the remedies relied on by the Government would have had any prospects of success and considers that they were ineffective in the circumstances of the case. It thus rejects the Government's objection in this part as well.
126. 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 Amir Magomedov, Ali Uspayev, Aslan Dokayev and Rustam Achkhanov, in breach of Article 2 in its procedural aspect.

III. Alleged violation of Article 3 of the Convention

127. The applicants complained that Amir Magomedov, Ali Uspayev, Aslan Dokayev and Rustam Achkhanov had probably been ill-treated while in the hands of Russian servicemen following their abduction. They further submitted that, as a result of their relatives' disappearance and the State's failure to investigate it properly, they had endured severe mental suffering. The applicants relied on Article 3 of the Convention, which reads:
"No one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment."

A. The parties' submissions

128. The Government disagreed with these allegations and argued that neither the applicants nor Amir Magomedov, Ali Uspayev, Aslan Dokayev and Rustam Achkhanov had been subjected to inhuman or degrading treatment prohibited by Article 3 of the Convention.
129. The applicants maintained their complaints.

B. The Court's assessment

1. Admissibility

(a) The complaint concerning Amir Magomedov, Ali Uspayev, Aslan Dokayev and Rustam Achkhanov
130. The Court reiterates that allegations of ill-treatment must be supported by appropriate evidence. To assess this evidence, the Court adopts the standard of proof "beyond reasonable doubt" but adds that such proof may follow from the coexistence of sufficiently strong, clear and concordant inferences or of similar unrebutted presumptions of fact (see Ireland v. the United Kingdom, cited above, § 161 in fine).
131. The Court has found it established that Amir Magomedov, Ali Uspayev, Aslan Dokayev and Rustam Achkhanov were taken away on 18 July 2001 by Russian federal forces and



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