further notes that it has no information about any efforts to trace the APCs and the Ural vehicles after they had left Stariye Atagi. The Court considers that the above failures of the investigating authorities constitute a breach of the obligation to exercise exemplary diligence and promptness in dealing with such a serious crime (see Paul and Audrey Edwards v. the United Kingdom, No. 46477/99, § 86, ECHR 2002-II).
64. As regards the interests of the next of kin, the Court notes that the applicants were granted victim status on 14 May 2004, that is, less then one month following the institution of the investigation. It takes note of the applicants' allegation that they had not been informed about the investigative measures taken. However, in the letter of 26 November 2005 the Grozny District Prosecutor's Office invited the first applicant to study the case file. From the text of the letter it appears that the invitation was contained in previous correspondence as well. No evidence has been submitted by the applicants indicating that their right to study the case file was subsequently denied or restricted. In the absence of such information, the Court finds that the investigators took sufficient measures to safeguard the interests of the next of kin in the proceedings.
65. Having regard to the limb of the Government's preliminary objection that was joined to the merits of the complaint, the Court observes that the investigation was resumed by the prosecuting authorities themselves a number of times, presumably due to the need to take additional investigative steps. However, they still failed to investigate the applicants' allegations properly. Moreover, owing to the time that had elapsed since the events complained of, certain investigative measures that ought to have been carried out much earlier could no longer usefully be conducted. Therefore, it is highly doubtful that the remedy relied on would have had any prospects of success. Accordingly, the Court finds that the remedy relied on by the Government was ineffective in the circumstances and dismisses their preliminary objection as regards the applicants' failure to exhaust domestic remedies within the context of the criminal investigation.
66. In the light of the foregoing, the Court holds that the authorities failed to carry out an effective criminal investigation into the circumstances of the abduction and killing of Mr Anzor Sambiyev, in breach of Article 2 in its procedural aspect.
III. Alleged violation of Article 3
of the Convention in respect of the applicants
67. The applicants relied on Article 3 of the Convention, submitting that as a result of their son's abduction and killing and the State's failure to investigate it properly, they had endured mental suffering in breach of Article 3 of the Convention. They also stated that it was highly probable that Mr Anzor Sambiyev had been subjected to treatment contrary to Article 3 of the Convention, which reads as follows:
"No one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment."
A. The parties' submissions
68. The Government accepted that the applicants must have suffered as a result of their son's killing. However, since the involvement of State agents in his abduction or killing had not been established, the State could not be held responsible for their suffering. They also stated that the investigation had not established that Mr Anzor Sambiyev had been subjected to treatment prohibited by Article 3 of the Convention.
69. In their observations on the admissibility and merits of the application the applicants submitted that they no longer wished to have the complaint regarding alleged ill-treatment of Mr Anzor Sambiyev examined. They further reiterated the complaint concerning the mental suffering
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