Court's case-law on Article 2. The applicants noted that the investigation had been adjourned and reopened a number of times, thus delaying the taking of the most basic steps, and that they had not been properly informed of the most important investigative measures.
B. The Court's assessment
1. Admissibility
46. The Court considers, in the light of the parties' submissions, that the complaint raises serious issues of fact and law under the Convention, the determination of which requires an examination of the merits. Further, the Court has already found that the Government's objection concerning the alleged non-exhaustion of domestic remedies in the part related to criminal remedies should be joined to the merits of the complaint (see paragraph 42 above). The complaint under Article 2 of the Convention must therefore be declared admissible.
2. Merits
(a) The alleged violation of Mr Anzor Sambiyev's right to life
i. General principles
47. The Court reiterates that, in the light of the importance of the protection afforded by Article 2, it must subject deprivations of life to the most careful scrutiny, taking into consideration not only the actions of State agents but also all the surrounding circumstances. Detained persons are in a vulnerable position and the obligation on the authorities to account for the treatment of a detained individual is particularly stringent where that individual dies or disappears thereafter (see, among other authorities, Orhan v. Turkey, No. 25656/94, § 326, 18 June 2002, and the authorities cited therein). Where the events in issue lie wholly, or in large part, within the exclusive knowledge of the authorities, as in the case of persons within their control in detention, strong presumptions of fact will arise in respect of injuries and death occurring during that detention. Indeed, the burden of proof may be regarded as resting on the authorities to provide a satisfactory and convincing explanation (see Salman v. Turkey [GC], No. 21986/93, § 100, ECHR 2000-VII, and {Cakici} v. Turkey [GC], No. 23657/94, § 85, ECHR 1999-IV).
ii. Establishment of the facts
48. The Court observes that it has developed a number of general principles relating to the establishment of facts in dispute, in particular when faced with allegations of disappearance under Article 2 of the Convention (for a summary of these, see Bazorkina v. Russia, No. 69481/01, §§ 103 - 109, 27 July 2006). The Court also notes that the conduct of the parties when evidence is being obtained has to be taken into account (see Ireland v. the United Kingdom, 18 January 1978, § 161, Series A No. 25).
49. The applicants alleged that in the evening of 10 April 2004 their son, Mr Anzor Sambiyev, had been apprehended by Russian servicemen and then disappeared. The second applicant witnessed servicemen arriving at their house, which was supported by statements by several other witnesses. According to the applicants, the fact that his dead body had been found the next morning proved that he had been killed by the servicemen.
50. The Government conceded that Mr Anzor Sambiyev had been abducted by unknown armed men on 10 April 2004 and subsequently killed by them. However, they denied that any special operations had been carried out in Stariye Atagi on that date. The Government referred to the absence of reliable evidence which, in their view, would support the conclusion that servicemen had been involved in the offence. In particular, the applicants had failed to obtain any witness statements themselves and, furthermore, the mere fact that the abductors had been armed and had been wearing camouflage was not sufficient to reach the above conclusion.
51. The Court observes that the Government did not deny that Mr Anzor Sambiyev had been abducted by armed men; how
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