to the incident, and in particular the head of the Novosibirsk OMON, to examine the custody records of that detachment, and to establish which other forces had been operating in the area at the time. The investigation had by now been pending for several years, but had failed to identify those responsible.
74. The Government advanced no arguments regarding their compliance with the procedural obligation under Article 2 of the Convention.
2. The Court's assessment
75. The Court reiterates that the obligation to protect the right to life under Article 2 of the Convention, read in conjunction with the State's general duty under Article 1 of the Convention to "secure to everyone within [its] jurisdiction the rights and freedoms defined in [the] Convention", requires by implication that there should be some form of effective official investigation when individuals have been killed as a result of the use of force, in particular by agents of the State. The investigation must be effective in the sense that it is capable of leading to the identification and punishment of those responsible (see {Ogur} v. Turkey [GC], No. 21594/93, § 88, ECHR 1999-III). In particular, there must be an implicit requirement of promptness and reasonable expedition (see {Yasa}, cited above, § 102 - 04, and Mahmut Kaya v. Turkey, No. 22535/93, ECHR 2000-III, §§ 106 - 07). It must be accepted that there may be obstacles or difficulties which prevent progress in an investigation in a particular situation. However, a prompt response by the authorities in investigating the use of lethal force may generally be regarded as essential in maintaining public confidence in the maintenance of the rule of law and in preventing any appearance of collusion in or tolerance of unlawful acts. For the same reasons, there must be a sufficient element of public scrutiny of the investigation or its results to secure accountability in practice as well as in theory. The degree of public scrutiny required may well vary from case to case. In all cases, however, the next of kin of the victim must be involved in the procedure to the extent necessary to safeguard his or her legitimate interests (see Shanaghan v. the United Kingdom, No. 37715/97, §§ 91 - 92, 4 May 2001).
76. In the instant case, the Court observes that some degree of investigation was carried out into the disappearance of the applicant's son. It must assess whether that investigation met the requirements of Article 2 of the Convention. The Court notes in this connection that its knowledge of the criminal proceedings at issue is rather limited in view of the respondent Government's refusal to submit the investigation file (see paragraphs 43 - 46 above). Drawing inferences from the respondent Government's conduct when evidence was being obtained (see Ireland v. the United Kingdom judgment of 18 January 1978, Series A No. 25, pp. 64 - 65, § 161), the Court will assess the merits of this complaint on the basis of the available information in the light of these inferences.
77. The Court observes that whilst the authorities were made aware of Adam Ayubov's disappearance in June 2000 at the latest (see paragraph 19 above), the official investigation in that connection was not commenced until 14 November 2000, which is more than four months later. The Court sees no reasonable explanation for such a long delay where prompt action was vital.
78. It further does not appear that once opened the investigation was carried out with any diligence. The Court notes that the Government did not submit any documents from the criminal investigation file pertaining to the period prior to May 2005, and provided very scarce information on the investigative actions taken during that period. Assuming that the information provided by the Government is accurate, it appears that during the first weeks, or even months after the investigation
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