ared, the greater the likelihood that he or she has died (see Tahsin Acar v. Turkey [GC], No. 26307/95, § 226, ECHR 2004-...). Accordingly, after a certain lapse of time during which no information on the fate of Aslanbek Khamzayev had been received, a presumption arose that he could have been deprived of his life at the hands of any kidnappers. Accordingly, the Court concludes that the State authorities were under a positive obligation to investigate the crime in question.
80. Given that there was an investigation into the disappearance of Aslanbek Khamzayev, the Court must now assess whether it met the requirements of Article 2 of the Convention.
81. The Court notes at the outset that the documents from the investigation file in case No. 50115 were not disclosed by the Government. It therefore has to assess the effectiveness of the investigation on the basis of the few documents submitted by the applicants and the scant information on its progress presented by the Government.
82. The Court observes that on 28 June 2008, that is, three days after Aslanbek Khamzayev's disappearance, the applicants contacted lawyers from Memorial who, in turn, immediately informed the city prosecutor's office of the crime (see paragraph 14 above). The investigation in case No. 50115 was instituted on 6 August 2002, that is, more than a month after Aslanbek Khamzayev's disappearance.
83. The Government attributed the delay in commencing the investigation to the applicants arguing that the first applicant had filed a complaint with the city prosecutor's office only on 5 August 2002. The Court considers in this respect that the issue of whether members of Aslanbek Khamzayev's family or others have lodged a formal complaint about his disappearance with the competent investigating authorities is not decisive. The mere knowledge of the disappearance in life-threatening circumstances on the part of the authorities gave rise ipso facto to an obligation under Article 2 of the Convention to carry out an effective investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident (see, mutatis mutandis, Ergi v. Turkey, 28 July 1998, § 82, Reports 1998-IV, and {Yasa} v. Turkey, 2 September 1998, § 100, Reports 1998-VI). The Government did not contest the applicants' assertion that the lawyers from Memorial had reported the crime to the city prosecutor's office on 28 June 2002. Accordingly, the Court finds it established that the competent investigating authorities were notified of Aslanbek Khamzayev's disappearance shortly after it took place. In such circumstances, they and not the applicants were responsible for the substantial delay in commencing the investigation. In the Court's view, this delay was in itself liable to affect the investigation into the disappearance in life-threatening circumstances, when crucial action was required in the first days.
84. Furthermore, a number of essential investigative measures, such as interviews of key witnesses, were delayed for a considerable time. For instance, Aslanbek Khamzatov's father and aunt were questioned for the first time a year after the incident, while Ms R.Yu. and Mr Yu. were interviewed only in May 2004 (see paragraphs 33 - 35 and 37 above). It is obvious that these investigative measures, if they were to produce any meaningful results, should have been taken as soon as the investigation commenced. Such delays, for which there has been no explanation in the instant case, not only demonstrate the authorities' failure to act of their own motion but also 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).
85. The Court notes that, regrettably, it is unable to build a timeline of the investigation because of the Government's failure to
> 1 2 3 ... 10 11 12 ... 15 16 17
Zaki.ru законы и право
поиск по сайту
каталог документов
добавить сайт Zaki.ru в избранное
Правовые акты международные
Правовые акты Российской Федерации
