tion whatsoever of the fact that an APC, a specific military vehicle that normally could not be owned by civilians, was freely circulating in daytime in the immediate vicinity of a federal military check-point.
115. In view of the above the Court finds that the fact that a large group of armed men in uniform was able to travel in the APC in broad daylight on the road between two important towns, to open fire on two civilian cars and then to keep eight men in detention strongly supports the applicants' allegation that these were State servicemen conducting a security operation.
116. The Court observes that where the applicants make out a prima facie case and the Court is prevented from reaching factual conclusions owing to a lack of documents, it is for the Government to argue conclusively why the documents in question cannot serve to corroborate the allegations made by the applicants, or to provide a satisfactory and convincing explanation of how the events in question occurred. The burden of proof is thus shifted to the Government and if they fail in their arguments, issues will arise under Article 2 and/or Article 3 (see {Togcu} v. Turkey, No. 27601/95, § 95, 31 May 2005, and Akkum and Others v. Turkey, No. 21894/93, § 211, ECHR 2005-II).
117. Taking into account the above elements, the Court is satisfied that the applicants have made a prima facie case that their relatives were abducted by State servicemen. The Government's statement that the investigation did not find any evidence to support the involvement of the special forces in the kidnapping is insufficient to discharge them from the above-mentioned burden of proof. Drawing inferences from the Government's failure to submit the documents which were in their exclusive possession or to provide another plausible explanation of the events in question, the Court considers that Adlan Dovtayev and Sharpuddin Israilov were abducted on 30 December 2002 by State servicemen during an unacknowledged security operation.
118. There has been no reliable news of Adlan Dovtayev and Sharpuddin Israilov since 31 December 2002. Their names have not been found in any official detention facilities' records. Finally, the Government did not submit any explanation as to what had happened to them after the abduction.
119. Having regard to the previous cases concerning disappearances of persons in the Chechen Republic which have come before the Court (see, among others, Imakayeva, cited above; Luluyev and Others v. Russia, No. 69480/01, ECHR 2006-... (extracts); Baysayeva v. Russia, No. 74237/01, 5 April 2007; Akhmadova and Sadulayeva, cited above; and Alikhadzhiyeva v. Russia, No. 68007/01, 5 July 2007), the Court considers that in the context of the conflict in the Chechen Republic when a person is detained by unidentified servicemen without any subsequent acknowledgement of the detention, this can be regarded as life-threatening. The absence of Adlan Dovtayev and Sharpuddin Israilov or of any news of them for six years supports this assumption.
120. Accordingly, the Court finds that the evidence available permits it to establish that Adlan Dovtayev and Sharpuddin Israilov must be presumed dead following their unacknowledged detention by State servicemen.
IV. Alleged violation of Article 2 of the Convention
121. The applicants complained that their relatives had disappeared after being detained by Russian servicemen and that the domestic authorities had failed to carry out an effective investigation of the matter. They relied on Article 2 of the Convention, which reads:
"1. Everyone's right to life shall be protected by law. No one shall be deprived of his life intentionally save in the execution of a sentence of a court following his conviction of a crime for which this penalty is provided by law.
2. Deprivation of life shall not be regarded as in
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