s of the events considered by the investigation, the crime could have been committed by members of illegal armed groups. They also pointed out that the applicants' description of the circumstances of the kidnapping was unreliable and inconsistent.
B. The Court's evaluation of the facts
86. The Court observes that in its extensive jurisprudence 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).
87. The Court notes that despite its requests for a copy of the file on the investigation into the abduction of Beslan, Rizvan, Rizavdi and Shuddi Dolsayev, the Government produced only a few documents from the case file. The Government referred to Article 161 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The Court observes that in previous cases it has already found this explanation insufficient to justify the withholding of key information requested by it (see Imakayeva v. Russia, No. 7615/02, § 123, ECHR 2006-XIII).
88. In view of this, and bearing in mind the principles referred to above, the Court finds that it can draw inferences from the Government's conduct in respect of the well-foundedness of the applicants' allegations. The Court will thus proceed to examine crucial elements in the present case that should be taken into account when deciding whether the applicants' relatives can be presumed dead and whether their deaths can be attributed to the authorities.
89. The applicants alleged that the persons who had taken Beslan, Rizvan, Rizavdi and Shuddi Dolsayev away on 21 October 2002 and then killed them had been State agents. The Government did not dispute any of the factual elements underlying the application.
90. The Government suggested in their submission that the persons who had detained Beslan, Rizvan, Rizavdi and Shuddi Dolsayev could have been members of paramilitary groups. However, this allegation was not specific and they did not submit any material to support it. The Court would stress in this regard that the evaluation of the evidence and the establishment of the facts is a matter for the Court, and it is incumbent on it to decide on the evidentiary value of the documents submitted to it (see {Celikbilek} v. Turkey, No. 27693/95, § 71, 31 May 2005).
91. The Court notes that the applicants' allegation is supported by the witness statements collected by the applicants and by the investigation. It finds that the fact that a large group of armed men in uniform, equipped with military vehicles, was able to move freely through military roadblocks during curfew hours and proceeded to check identity documents strongly supports the applicants' allegation that these were State servicemen conducting a security operation. In their applications to the authorities the applicants consistently maintained that Beslan, Rizvan, Rizavdi and Shuddi Dolsayev had been detained by federal servicemen and requested the investigation to look into that possibility (see paragraphs 28, 52 and 55 above), but it does not appear that the investigation took any serious steps in that direction.
92. The Court observes that where the applicants make out a prima facie case and it 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
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