there should have been no thorough investigation of the relevant facts by the domestic prosecutors or courts. The few documents submitted by the Government from the investigation file opened by the district prosecutor do not suggest any progress in several years and if anything show the incomplete and inadequate nature of those proceedings. Moreover, the stance of the prosecutor's office and the other law-enforcement authorities after the news of his detention had been communicated to them by the applicants contributed significantly to the likelihood of the disappearance, as no necessary steps were taken in the crucial first days and weeks after the arrest. The authorities' behaviour in the face of the applicants' well-substantiated complaints gives rise to a strong presumption of at least acquiescence in the situation and raises strong doubts as to the objectivity of the investigation.
81. For the above reasons the Court considers that Aslanbek Astamirov must be presumed dead following his unacknowledged detention by State servicemen.
III. Alleged violation of Article 2 of the Convention
82. The applicants complained under Article 2 of the Convention that their relative had disappeared after having been detained by Russian servicemen and that the domestic authorities had failed to carry out an effective investigation of the matter. Article 2 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 inflicted in contravention of this article when it results from the use of force which is no more than absolutely necessary:
(a) in defence of any person from unlawful violence;
(b) in order to effect a lawful arrest or to prevent the escape of a person lawfully detained;
(c) in action lawfully taken for the purpose of quelling a riot or insurrection."
A. The alleged violation of the right to life
of Aslanbek Astamirov
83. The Court has already found that the applicants' relative must be presumed dead following unacknowledged arrest by State servicemen and that the death can be attributed to the State. In the absence of any justification in respect of the use of lethal force by State agents, the Court finds that there has been a violation of Article 2 in respect of Aslanbek Astamirov.
B. The alleged inadequacy of the investigation
of the abduction
84. As regards the procedural obligation under Article 2, the applicants argued that even though an investigation had been mounted into the disappearance, it was inefficient and the authorities had been unable to demonstrate any progress over a period of several years. A number of important steps had been taken too late, or not taken at all, such as identifying and questioning the State agents who could have been involved in the abduction. The applicants had had no opportunity to acquaint themselves with the case file. The applicants invited the Court to draw conclusions from the Government's unjustified failure to submit the documents from the case file to them or to the Court.
85. The Government claimed that the investigation of the disappearance of the applicants' relative met the Convention requirement of effectiveness, as all measures envisaged in national law were being taken to identify the perpetrators. They argued that the applicants had been granted victim status and had had every opportunity to participate effectively in the proceedings.
86. The Court has on many occasions stated that the obligation to protect the right to life under Article 2 of the Convention also requires by implication that t
> 1 2 3 ... 10 11 12 ... 16 17 18
Zaki.ru законы и право
поиск по сайту
каталог документов
добавить сайт Zaki.ru в избранное
Правовые акты международные
Правовые акты Российской Федерации
