Dolsayev a missing person as of 21 October 2002.
69. On 17 November 2003 the District Court delivered a similar decision in respect of Rizvan, Rizavdi and Shuddi Dolsayev and declared them missing persons as of 21 October 2002.
70. On 31 January 2005 the District Court granted a request by the first applicant and declared Beslan Dolsayev deceased as of 21 October 2002.
2. Information submitted by the Government
71. On 30 October 2002 the district prosecutor's office instituted an investigation into Beslan, Rizvan, Rizavdi and Shuddi Dolsayev's abduction under Article 126 § 2 of the Russian Criminal Code (aggravated kidnapping). The case file was assigned No. 61144. The criminal case was opened within the time-frame prescribed by Articles 143 and 145 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (decisions taken upon receipt of information about a crime) - that is, within ten days from the receipt of the information about the abduction of the applicants' relatives.
72. The first applicant was questioned on 2 November 2002; the second applicant was questioned on the same date. The second applicant was granted victim status on 30 December 2002; the first applicant was granted this status on 16 May 2007.
73. The investigation questioned a number of witnesses. On 2 November 2002 the second applicant testified that at about 4 a.m. on 21 October 2002 she had heard some noise from the street. She looked out from the window and saw a group of 20 - 25 armed men in camouflage uniform and masks. Some of these men entered her house. One of them told her that they were from the GRU. The men put four of the applicant's sons against the wall and asked who was working in the police. Beslan Dolsayev told them that he worked at the Zavodskoy ROVD. Then the intruders took away his service gun, ammunition, service uniform and identity card. After that the men took the applicant's sons outside. They locked her husband Kursolt Dolsayev and her sick son Shamil in a bedroom; the applicant and her daughter-in-law had been locked in another room. After the intruders left, the applicant saw on the ground tyre marks from a car and an APC. On 2 November 2002 the first applicant provided a similar witness statement. However, he also stated that one of the intruders had had a gun with a telescopic sight, and that he had been locked by the intruders in one of the rooms together with his son Adam. On 16 May 2007 the first applicant changed his previous testimony by stating that he had been locked in one of the bedrooms with his son Shamil. On an unspecified date the investigation questioned the fourth applicant, Shamil Dolsayev, whose description of the events was similar to that of his parents.
74. According to the Government, the applicants provided contradictory statements concerning the subsequent discovery of the knife: the second applicant testified that she had seen the soldier with the knife about a week after the abduction and that the soldier had been accompanied by other servicemen, whereas the first applicant submitted that he had seen the soldier a month after the abduction and that the soldier had been alone. In addition, the applicants' statements contained discrepancies as to the way the soldier had escaped from the applicants. The applicants had also failed to describe the knife's features to the investigation and to inform the authorities that the abductors had stolen their property.
75. The investigators questioned the applicants' neighbours Ms Kh.N., Mr A.S. and Mr S.A., who had provided similar statements to the effect that they had discovered about the abduction of the Dolsayev brothers from the applicants. The investigators also questioned officer P.M., the head of the road-patrol unit of the Urus-Martan ROVD. According to his statement, he had been informed about the abduction on 21 October 2002. Another wit
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