re, they drew the Court's attention to the fact that, according to the conclusions of the internal investigation carried out by the Ministry of the Interior in relation to the disappearance of its staff member Khasin Yunusov, his death had been linked to the carrying out of his professional duties. In such circumstances, there were no reasons to suspect that the State agents had been implicated in his abduction and murder.
B. Article 38 § 1 (a) and consequent
inferences drawn by the Court
134. The Court has on many occasions reiterated that the Contracting States are required to furnish all necessary facilities to the Court and that a failure on a Government's part to submit information which is in their hands, without a satisfactory explanation, may reflect negatively on the level of compliance by a respondent State with its obligations under Article 38 § 1 (a) of the Convention (see {Timurtas} v. Turkey, No. 23531/94, § 66, ECHR 2000-VI).
135. In the present case the applicants alleged that their relatives had been illegally arrested and then killed by servicemen. They also alleged that no proper investigation had taken place. In view of these allegations, the Court asked the Government to produce documents from the file on the criminal investigation opened in relation to the kidnapping. The evidence contained in that file was regarded by the Court as crucial to the establishment of the facts in the present case.
136. The Government confirmed the principal facts as submitted by the applicants. They refused to disclose most of the documents from the criminal investigation files, relying on Article 161 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The Government also argued that the Court's procedure contained no guarantees of the confidentiality of documents, in the absence of sanctions for applicants in the event of a breach of confidentiality. They also argued that the applicants were represented by foreign nationals who could not be brought to account in Russia in the event of such a breach. Lastly, the Government argued that by providing detailed information about the progress of the investigation and some documents from the criminal investigation files, they had complied with their obligations under Article 38 § 1 (a).
137. The Court notes that Rule 33 § 2 of the Rules of Court permits a restriction on the principle of the public character of documents deposited with the Court for legitimate purposes, such as the protection of national security, the private life of the parties or the interests of justice. The Court cannot speculate as to whether the information contained in the criminal investigation file in the present case was indeed of such nature, since the Government did not request the application of this Rule and it is the obligation of the party requesting confidentiality to substantiate its request.
138. The Court further notes that it has already found on a number of occasions that the provisions of Article 161 of the Code of Criminal Procedure do not preclude the disclosure of documents from a pending investigation file, but rather set out a procedure for and limits to such disclosure (see Mikheyev v. Russia, No. 77617/01, § 104, 26 January 2006, and Imakayeva v. Russia, No. 7615/02, § 123, ECHR 2006-XIII). For these reasons the Court considers the Government's explanation insufficient to justify the withholding of the key information requested by it.
139. As to the Government's argument that they had complied with the requirements of Article 38 § 1 (a) by providing a summary of the investigative steps and some documents from the investigation files requested, the Court reiterates that in cases where the applicants raise the issue of the effectiveness of the investigation, the documents of the criminal investigation are fundamental to the establishment of facts and their absence may prejudice the
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