CEDH · CASELAW;JUDGMENTS;CHAMBER;ENG — 18 janvier 2007

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margin-bottom:0pt; text-indent:-17pt; text-align:justify } .s127C7598 { margin-top:0pt; margin-left:17pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-indent:-17pt; text-align:justify } .sD66C1369 { margin-top:0pt; margin-left:17.3pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:justify } .s60723A49 { margin-top:0pt; margin-left:39.7pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:justify } .s81CCF55C { margin-top:0pt; margin-left:17pt; margin-bottom:12pt; text-indent:-17pt; text-align:justify } .s7CB9076 { margin-top:36pt; margin-bottom:0pt; page-break-inside:avoid; page-break-after:avoid } .s8A7788FC { width:42.94pt; display:inline-block } .sD2F08BAA { width:176.3pt; display:inline-block } .sF2E32F9B { width:36.61pt; display:inline-block } .s5F32E900 { width:208.31pt; display:inline-block }     FIRST SECTION     CASE OF CHITAYEV AND CHITAYEV v. RUSSIA     (Application no. 59334/00)     JUDGMENT     STRASBOURG     18 January 2007       FINAL     18/04/2007     This judgment will become final in the circumstances set out in Article   44 §   2 of the Convention. It may be subject to editorial revision. In the case of Chitayev and Chitayev v. Russia, The European Court of Human Rights (First Section), sitting as a Chamber composed of:   Mr   C.L. Rozakis , President ,   Mr   L. Loucaides ,   Mrs   F. Tulkens ,   Mrs   N. Vajić ,   Mr   A. Kovler ,   Mrs   E. Steiner ,   Mr   K. Hajiyev, judges and Mr S. Nielsen , Section Registrar , Having deliberated in private on 12 December 2006, Delivers the following judgment, which was adopted on that date: PROCEDURE 1.     The case originated in an application (no. 59334/00) against the Russian Federation lodged with the Court under Article 34 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (“the Convention”) by two Russian nationals, Mr Arbi Salaudiyevich Chitayev and Mr Adam Salaudiyevich Chitayev (“the applicants”), on 19   July 2000. 2.     The applicants, who had been granted legal aid, were represented by lawyers of the Stichting Russian Justice Initiative (“SRJI”), an NGO based in the Netherlands with a representative office in Russia. The Russian Government (“the Government”) were represented by Mr P. Laptev, Representative of the Russian Federation at the European Court of Human Rights. 3.     The applicants complained, in particular, of their unlawful arrest and detention, as well as torture and inhuman and degrading treatment, by the domestic authorities, and of the absence of an effective investigation into these events. They also complained of unlawful searches in their private house, the unlawful seizure of their property and the lack of effective remedies in respect of those violations. They relied on Articles 3, 5, 8 and 13 of the Convention and on Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 to the Convention. 4.     On 29 August 2004 the President of the First Section decided to grant priority to the application under Rule 41 of the Rules of Court. 5.     By a decision of 30 June 2005, the Court declared the application partly admissible. 6.     The applicants and the Government each filed further written observations (Rule 59 § 1). The Chamber having decided, after consulting the parties, that no hearing on the merits was required (Rule 59 § 3 in fine ), the parties replied in writing to each other's observations. THE FACTS I.     THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE CASE 7.     The applicants are brothers, born in 1964 and 1967 respectively. It appears that the first applicant currently resides in Germany, and the second applicant lives in the Irkutsk Region, Russia. A.     Introduction 8.     The facts of the case, particularly those surrounding the period of the applicants' detention in custody, are partially in dispute between the parties. 9.     The facts as presented by the applicants are set out in Section B below (paragraphs 10   -   62). The Government's submissions concerning the facts are summarised in Section C below (paragraphs 63   -   76). The documentary evidence submitted by the parties is summarised in Section D below (paragraphs 77   -   95). B.     The applicants' submissions on the facts 1.     Background to the case 10.     Prior to the events described below, the first applicant, an engineer by profession, lived with his wife and two children in Staraya Sunzha, a suburb of Grozny. The second applicant, a school teacher by profession, lived in Kazakhstan and moved to Chechnya in 1999 with his wife and two children. 11.     In early October 1999 hostilities started in Chechnya between the Russian armed forces and Chechen rebel fighters. The city of Grozny and its suburbs formed the target of wide-scale attacks by the Russian military. In October 2000 a housing agency in Grozny certified the destruction of the first applicant's flat as a result of the hostilities. 12.     Fearing the attacks, the applicants moved their families and valuables to their parent's house (hereinafter “the house of the Chitayev family”) at 28 Matrosov Street in the town of Achkhoy-Martan. According to the applicants, the items of their property stored in the house had included the first applicant's tape-recorder, a hi-fi system, a video camera and the second applicant's TV set and a video player. Other items of electronics and clothing were also stored in the house. The documents and purchase receipts in respect of the valuables were kept separately in a suitcase. Most items were stored in one of the rooms of the house and in the cellar. 2.     Events of January and April 2000 13.     On 15 January 2000 officers from the Temporary Office of the Interior of the Achkhoy-Martan District ( временный районный отдел внутренних дел Ачхой-Мартановского района – “the Achknoy-Martan VOVD”) searched the house at 28 Matrosov Street for firearms. According to the applicants, the search was not officially authorised or documented. The officers took with them a new packaged cordless telephone set with batteries and an antenna. 14.     On 18 January 2000 the second applicant complained to the head of the Achkhoy-Martan VOVD that the search had been unlawful and asked for the telephone set to be returned. It appears that at the beginning of March 2000, after the applicants' father had submitted a request to the district military prosecutor, the telephone set was returned. 15.     On 12   April 2000 at about 8 or 9 a.m. several officers of the Achkhoy-Martan VOVD again arrived at the house at 28 Matrosova Street. The applicants and their families were at home at that moment. The officers searched the house, without producing any warrants or official justification for their action. They seized several items of electronic equipment belonging to the applicants, documents for equipment and personal documents of some of the family members. The officers then asked the applicants to come with them to the Achkhoy-Martan VOVD for a few hours to help them to deal with paperwork. 16.     According to the applicants, once they got into the car, the officers told them that they were under arrest and started to beat them. The applicants were taken to the Achkhoy-Martan VOVD and put into separate cells. 17.     On the same day, at about 12 noon, the applicants' house was again searched. About 30 servicemen in two cars had arrived at the house and taken away all the electronic equipment found in the house, including a printer, TV sets and video equipment. No official justification for the search and seizure had been presented. The applicants submitted a list of items seized at their house (see paragraph 77 below). 3.     The applicants' detention at the Achkhoy-Martan VOVD 18.     Between 12 and 28 April 2000 the applicants were detained in the Achkhoy-Martan VOVD. While in custody they were questioned about the activities of the Chechen rebel fighters and about kidnappings for ransom, but denied their involvement in any crimes. (a)     Ill-treatment of the applicants 19.     During the detention and interrogations, which took place in a cell situated on the third floor of the Achkhoy-Martan VOVD premises, the applicants were subjected to various forms of torture and ill-treatment. In particular, they were fettered to a chair and beaten; electric shocks were applied to various parts of their bodies, including their fingertips and ears; they were forced to stand for a long time in a stretched position, with their feet and hands spread wide apart; their arms were twisted; they were beaten with rubber truncheons and with plastic bottles filled with water; they were strangled with adhesive tape, with a cellophane bag and a gas mask; dogs were set on them; parts of their skin were torn away with pliers. 20.     The first applicant was interrogated on the first day of detention and told to sign a confession. When he refused, the interrogators fettered him to a chair and kicked him. They put a gas mask on his face and released cigarette smoke into it. The first applicant lost consciousness and was brought back to his cell. The following day he was again taken for questioning to the same room. Wires were applied to his fingertips and the interrogators turned the handle of a device, which they called a “lie detector”, and which gave the first applicant electric shocks. 21.     The second applicant was also interrogated on the first day of detention. He was brought to a room in which there were two officers, who told him to confess that he had been a rebel fighter and that he had been involved in kidnappings. When the second applicant refused to sign a confession, he was placed against the wall, handcuffed, and his mouth was covered with adhesive tape. One of the interrogators started beating him on his back and genitals, while the other held a machine-gun and threatened to shoot him if he moved. The second applicant was beaten for an hour and then taken back to his cell. 22.     On several occasions during the detention the personnel of the Achkhoy-Martan VOVD came into the cells and beat all inmates, including the applicants. (b)     Conditions of detention 23.     There were no toilets in the cells, and the detainees were taken out to the toilets one by one. They were forced to run all the way to the toilets and if they were slow, they were beaten with rifle butts and chased with dogs. In the toilets they were not allowed enough time. Sometimes they were not allowed to go to the toilets and had to urinate and defecate in the corridor in full view of the guards. 24.     The cells were unheated and damp and the applicants were constantly suffering from cold. 4.     The applicants' detention at the Chernokozovo SIZO 25.     According to the applicants, on 28 April 2000 they and some other detainees were taken out of the Achkhoy-Martan VOVD, blindfolded and put into a vehicle. The guards told them that they were going to execute them. Instead, the detainees, including the applicants, were transferred to another detention centre. Later they found out that the place was the Chernokozovo detention centre ( следственный изолятор с. Чернокозово – “the Chernokozovo SIZO”). The detainees, including the applicants, were forced out of the vehicle, ordered to prostrate themselves and beaten. They were then taken to cells. 26.     The applicants were not subjected to a medical examination upon their admission to the Chernokozovo SIZO, as prescribed by the relevant legislation. (a)     Ill-treatment of the applicants 27.     At the beginning of their detention in the Chernokozovo SIZO, the applicants were questioned every two days and later about once a week. They were forced to run to the interrogation room with their heads lowered and their hands across their heads, while the guards beat them on their backs. There was an iron table, a chair and a hook on the wall in the interrogation room. The interrogators, who never drew up any transcripts of interrogations, put pressure on the applicants to force them to confess or simply beat them. The interrogators also kicked the applicants with boots, rifle butts and mallets on different parts of their bodies, in particular their knee caps, threatened the applicants with a knife pressed against their fingers, put tarpaulin gauntlets on the applicants and then tied their hands to the hook and beat them, squashed the applicants' fingers and toes with mallets or a door of a safe, tied the applicants' hands and feet together behind their backs (“swallow” position), strangled the applicants with adhesive tape or a cellophane bag, and applied electric shocks to the applicants' fingers. 28.     The applicants were also beaten by the guards when they were taken out of their cells for a few minutes' “exercise”. 29.     The applicants' lawyer, Mr Sharip Tepsayev, was only given access to them once during the entire period of their detention in the Chernokozovo SIZO, namely at some point in May 2000. The applicants were allowed to meet with him one by one, in the presence of a police officer. They were required to speak Russian during the meeting and the lawyer could only ask them how they were doing. (b)     Conditions of detention 30.     During their detention in the Chernokozovo SIZO the applicants were kept in separate cells, except for several days in late July 2000, which they spent in the same cell. 31.     The second applicant spent a month and a half in cell no.   5 and another month and a half in cell no.   20. For the remainder of his detention the second applicant was in cell no.   27. That latter cell was designated for three people, whilst no less than six inmates were detained in it. The second applicant had to sleep on the floor on a mattress which was given to him. 32.     According to the applicants, the conditions of their detention improved in June 2000 after the guards had been replaced by a new shift and after the representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (“the ICRC”) had visited the Chernokozovo SIZO on 14 June 2000. The second applicant managed to talk to the representatives of the ICRC personally, in a confidential meeting, because he spoke English. 33.     There were two more visits by the representatives of the ICRC in August 2000. Those visits enabled the applicants to exchange messages with their families. In January 2001 the ICRC office in Nalchik, Kabardino-Balkaria, issued the applicants with certificates confirming that they had been visited by the ICRC in Chernokozovo on 14   June, 11   August and 23   August 2000. 5.     The applicants' release 34.     On 19   September 2000 the applicants were brought back to the Achkhoy-Martan VOVD and informed that they had been charged with kidnapping and participation in an unlawful armed group under Articles   126   (2) and 208   (2) of the Russian Criminal Code. According to the applicants, it was the first time that they had been officially informed of the charges against them. 35.     On 5   October 2000 the applicants were released from detention subject to a written undertaking not to leave their place of residence. 36.     On 6 October 2000 the applicants were brought by their relatives to the Achkhoy-Martan hospital. They were examined by a general practitioner, a neuropathologist and a surgeon. The first applicant was diagnosed with repeated craniocerebral traumas, resulting in intracranial hypertension and post-traumatic stress disorder, chronic bronchitis, chronic two-sided pyelonephritis, asthenoneurotic syndrome, hypochromic anaemia, numerous blunt injuries to the head, body and extremities, and chronic pneumonia in the left lung. The second applicant was diagnosed with repeated craniocerebral traumas, resulting in intracranial hypertension and posttraumatic stress disorder, numerous blunt injuries to the head, body and extremities and a trauma of the left knee-cap, chronic pneumonia in the left lung and chronic left-sided pyelonephritis. The doctors noted down that the traumas and other medical conditions had apparently been sustained in the Chernokozovo SIZO between April and October 2000. 37.     In letters of 9   October 2000 the prosecutor's office of the Achkhoy-Martan District ( Ачхой-Мартановская районная прокуратура – “the district prosecutor's office”) informed the applicants that criminal proceedings in case no.   59212 opened against them under Articles 126   (2) and 208   (2) of the Criminal Code had been discontinued on 9   October 2000, as their involvement in the imputed offences had not been proven. The letters stated that the applicants had been relieved of their obligation not to leave their place of residence and that they could appeal against the decision of 9 October 2000 to a superior prosecutor or to a court within five days. 6.     Applications to public bodies 38.     From 12 April 2000 onwards the applicants' relatives, both orally and in writing, applied repeatedly to various official bodies concerning the searches in their house and seizure of their property, as well as the applicants' arrest on 12   April 2000 and their subsequent detention. After the applicants had been released, they joined their relatives in these efforts. They were supported by human rights NGOs. These attempts yielded little result. On several occasions, the applicants' family members received copies of letters from various authorities directing their complaints to the district prosecutor's office, the Achkhoy-Martan VOVD or the prosecutor's office of the Chechen Republic ( прокуратура Чеченской Республики – “the republican prosecutor's office”). 39.     On the evening of 12 April 2000 the applicants' relatives went to the Achkhoy-Martan VOVD and enquired about the applicants' whereabouts. They were informed that the Chitayev brothers had been asked to help with paperwork and would soon return home. The applicants did not return that day. 40.     On 14 April 2000 the applicants' father went to the Achkhoy-Martan VOVD to find out where his sons were. The officials informed him that the brothers had been detained on suspicion of having kidnapped Russian soldiers for ransom. The suspicion was allegedly based on military uniformed overcoats found in the house. The applicants' father replied that these were old-style Soviet military overcoats, no longer used in the army, that his sons had brought them home after their service in the Soviet army and that he had used them for various household needs. 41.     On 22 April 2000 the Memorial Human Rights Centre, acting on behalf of the Chitayev family, requested the Special Representative of the Russian President for Rights and Freedoms in the Chechen Republic ( Специальный представитель Президента Российской Федерации по соблюдению прав и свобод человека в Чеченской Республике ) to clarify the reasons for the applicants' arrest on 12 April 2000 and complained that the searches, seizures and arrests had been unlawful. 42.     By letter of 18 May 2000 the Ministry of the Interior replied to an enquiry of a deputy of the State Duma sent on the applicants' behalf. The letter stated that criminal proceedings against the applicants had been instituted by the district prosecutor's office on suspicion of the applicants' involvement in criminal offences under Articles 126   (2) and 208   (2) of the Russian Criminal Code. It continued that on 21 April 2000 the case file had been forwarded to the Chief Department of the Prosecutor General's Office for the Northern Caucasus (Главное управление Генеральной прокуратуры РФ на Северном Кавказе – “the Prosecutor General's Office for the Northern Caucasus”) to be joined with other cases related to the military actions in Chechnya and indicated that further information could be obtained from that Office. 43.     On 20 May 2000 the republican prosecutor's office informed the applicants' brother that the criminal investigation against the applicants was being conducted by the Prosecutor General's Office for the Northern Caucasus, and that therefore further enquiries should be addressed there. 44.     On 22 May 2000 the applicants' father submitted a complaint about the seizure of property to the head of the Achkhoy-Martan VOVD. The latter replied in an undated letter that the items allegedly seized at the house of the Chitayev family were not registered as being kept in the Achkhoy-Martan VOVD. The letter further stated that the prosecutor's office of the Achkhoy-Martan District had instituted criminal proceedings against the applicants, but did not indicate the date on which the proceedings had been commenced. It continued that in the context of those proceedings “an inspection of the scene of the incident” had been carried out in the house of the Chitayev family, in accordance with the relevant provision of the national legislation. Furthermore, a report on the results of that “inspection” was kept in the file of the criminal case against the applicants and the items seized during the “inspection” in the house of the Chitayev family were listed in that report. The letter concluded that the seized property should be kept in the case file and invited the applicants' father to apply to the republican prosecutor's office for any information regarding the proceedings against the applicants. 45.     On 4 July 2000 the applicants' brother complained to the Special Representative of the Russian President for Rights and Freedoms in the Chechen Republic about the applicants' unlawful detention on 12   April   2000 as well as the searches and seizures in the house of the Chitayev family. 46.     On 26 July 2000 the deputy head of the Achkhoy-Martan VOVD informed the applicants' father that the applicants had been detained on 17   April [rather than on 12   April] 2000, pursuant to Article   122 of the Russian Code of Criminal Procedure. 47.     On 28 July 2000 the same officer of the Achkhoy-Martan VOVD informed the applicants' father that the items seized in his house had been attached to the case file of the criminal investigation, and that the decision regarding the release of those items could only be taken by an official in charge of the investigation, or a competent court. 48.     On 1 September 2000 the applicants' father sent a request concerning the lawfulness of the searches and seizures in his house and the applicants' detention on 12 April 2000 to the republican prosecutor's office. 49.     On 7 September 2000 the republican prosecutor's office replied to the applicants' father that the applicants had been arrested in connection with the criminal charges brought against them under Articles 126   (2) and 208   (2) of the Russian Criminal Code, namely kidnapping and participation in an illegal armed group, and that the period of their remand in custody had been extended until 9 October 2000 by the republican prosecutor, but did not specify the date of the extension order. The applicants' father was invited to apply to the district prosecutor's office for information on the results of the investigation in the applicants' criminal case. 50.     On 18 October 2000 the republican prosecutor's office informed the applicants' brother that, following his complaint concerning the unlawfulness of the searches and seizures in the house of the Chitayev family, as well as the applicants' detention, the division of internal security of the Achkhoy-Martan VOVD had commenced an internal inquiry ( служебная проверка ) into the seizure and destruction of “radio equipment and transmitting devices and personal property” belonging to his brothers. The letter further stated that the applicants had been released from detention on 4   October 2000 subject to an undertaking not to leave their permanent place of residence. 51.     On 1 June 2001 the applicants' brother applied to the district prosecutor's office for information concerning the items seized in their family house in April 2000. 52.     On 5 October 2001 the SRJI, acting on the applicants' behalf, complained to the republican prosecutor's office, giving a detailed description of severe ill-treatment of the applicants and the alleged procedural violations during the applicants' detention in the Achkhoy-Martan VOVD and the Chernokozovo SIZO from 12 April until 5   October   2000. The letter referred to the medical documents in support of the complaints regarding ill-treatment and requested that criminal proceedings in connection with the applicants' allegations be instituted. A copy of the letter was forwarded to the Prosecutor General's Office. The latter replied on 25 October 2001 that the complaint had been forwarded to the republican prosecutor's office. 53.     On 29 October 2001 the applicants' brother requested the Achkhoy-Martan VOVD to provide him with an update concerning the internal inquiry into the seizure of the property in April 2000. On 3   January 2002 he filed another request concerning the update on the complaints concerning the property and the arrest and detention of his relatives. No reply was received to any of these requests. 54.     On 22 November 2001 and on 24 January 2002 the SRJI again wrote to the republican prosecutor's office, referring to their letter of 5   October   2001. On 29 January 2002 they requested the same information from the district prosecutor's office. 55.     In early 2002 all male members of the Chitayev family received a summons to appear at the district prosecutor's office on 7 January 2002. The first applicant was outside Chechnya at that time, but the second applicant and the applicants' father and brother appeared. They were invited to talk to an investigator of the prosecutor's office one by one. 56.     According to the second applicant, the prosecutor of the Achkhoy-Martan District and an investigator of the same office proposed that he should write a statement withdrawing all claims against the Achkhoy-Martan VOVD concerning the lawfulness and conditions of detention. In case of refusal, they threatened to re-open the criminal proceedings against both applicants. The second applicant was allowed to consult his relatives, whereupon he decided to sign the requested statement. 57.     By letter of 7 January 2002 the investigator of the district prosecutor's office replied to the SRJI that following the examination of their complaint, the prosecutor's office had decided to dispense with criminal proceedings. The letter did not state the reasons for that decision, but informed the SRJI of the possibility of appealing against it to superior prosecutors or to a court. A copy of the decision of 7 January 2002 was not enclosed. 58.     On 14 March 2002 the SRJI challenged the decision of 7   January   2002 before the republican prosecutor. They enclosed a copy of their complaint of 5 October 2001, referred to the pressure put on the second applicant to repudiate his statements concerning the ill-treatment and reiterated their request that a criminal investigation into the applicants' allegations of ill-treatment in the Achkhoy-Martan VOVD and the Chernokozovo SIZO be opened. 59.     In a letter of 18 March 2002 the acting prosecutor of the Achkhoy-Martan District informed the SRJI that the district prosecutor's office had studied the complaint concerning “illicit methods of investigation” applied to the applicants and decided not to open criminal proceedings in the absence of evidence of a crime in the actions of the personnel of the Achkhoy-Martan VOVD. The letter further stated that the second applicant had been invited to the district prosecutor's office where he had confirmed the fact of his detention at the Achkhoy-Martan VOVD and the Chernokozovo SIZO, but had denied that “illicit methods of investigation” had ever been applied to him, whilst the first applicant could not be questioned because he had left the Chechen Republic. The letter went on to say that no objective information proving the allegations of ill-treatment had been obtained, and that the SRJI had already been informed of the results of the examination of their complaint by letter no.   105 dated 7   January 2002. 60.     On 24 April 2002 the applicants' brother applied to the republican prosecutor's office for information on the developments in the internal inquiry commenced in connection with his complaints about the searches and seizures in their house. It does not appear that any reply from the authorities followed. 61.     On 6 May 2002 [erroneously dated 2001] the republican prosecutor's office replied to the SRJI's complaint of 14 March 2002, informing them that an internal inquiry had been carried out in connection with their request that the decision of 7 January 2002 be quashed. The letter stated that “the decision of the district prosecutor's office to dispense with criminal proceedings in respect of the applicants' complaint concerning ill-treatment by the personnel of the Achkhoy-Martan VOVD and Chernokozovo SIZO [during their detention between 12   April and 5   October 2000] was well-founded and lawful and that [the applicants'] complaints were found to be unsubstantiated”. 62.     At some point the SRJI requested the district prosecutor's office to send them a copy of the decision of 7 January 2002 concerning the refusal to institute criminal proceedings in connection with the applicants' allegations of ill-treatment during their detention from 12 April until 5   October 2000. On 24 March 2003 the district prosecutor's office replied that the SRJI had been notified of the results of the examination of their complaint and of their right to appeal and that, according to the Russian Code of Criminal Procedure then in force, the investigator was not obliged to forward a copy of such decision to a person who had sought the institution of proceedings. The reply also stated that the second applicant had been apprised of the document in question. C.     The Government's submissions on the facts 63.     On 15 January 2000 officers of the Achkhoy-Martan VOVD carried out a passport check in the town of Achkhoy-Martan. During the check in the house at 32 [rather than 28] Matrosova Street, the applicants' father voluntarily surrendered an FT-26 radio station and accessory equipment, technical documentation in foreign languages for that radio station, a personal military card of serviceman B., who had previously been kidnapped by unidentified persons, a camouflage cloak, a bullet-proof vest and 11 registration plates for cars and tractors. Following the voluntary surrender of the items, a formal note ( акт ) was drawn up on the same date, and on 4 February 2000 an investigator of the Achkhoy-Martan VOVD decided not to open a criminal investigation in this connection. 64.     On the basis of the information obtained during the check of 15   January 2000, on 12 April 2000 the applicants' house was “inspected” ( осмотр ) by a police officer of the Achkhoy-Martan VOVD, Mr   S.   Vlasenko, in the presence of attesting witnesses. During that “inspection” police officer Vlasenko found eight military overcoats and four military jackets, all bearing numbers and personal details of federal servicemen, details from a radio transmitting device, tapes with recordings of Shamil Basayev's interview, a video recording of a documentary called 'Nokhcho Chechnya – the Day of Freedom', photographs of exhumations, photographs of the first applicant armed, a computer and diskettes with information concerning tapping of radio and telephone conversations of the members of the Government of Chechnya in 1998, lists of mobile telephone numbers of the top-ranking officials of Chechnya and leaders of the illegal armed groups, outlines of eavesdropping transmitters, and other materials that, in the Government's submission, “could be indicative of the applicants' participation in illegal armed groups.” 65.     On 17 April 2000 the prosecutor's office of the Achkhoy-Martan District instituted criminal proceedings against the applicants under Articles   126 (2) (aggravated kidnapping) and 208 (2) (participation in an illegal armed group) of the Russian Criminal Code on the basis of the results of the check of 15 January 2000 and the inspection of 12 April 2000. The case file was assigned the number 26009 and then 59212. 66.     On the same date the applicants were apprehended pursuant to Article 122 of the Russian Code of Criminal Procedure, then in force, and placed in detention in the Achkhoy-Martan VOVD. 67.     On 18 April 2000 the district prosecutor's office quashed the decision of 4 February 2000 on the ground that the investigation into the circumstances of the disclosure of the items during the check on 15   January   2000 had been incomplete and the materials of that check were included in the file of the criminal proceedings opened against the applicants. 68.     On 19 April 2000 the district prosecutor's office ordered that a preventive measure in the form of custody be taken against the applicants for their suspected involvement in kidnapping and participation in illegal armed groups. These orders were then forwarded for execution to the Chernokozovo SIZO. 69.     On 20 April 2000 both applicants were formally charged with criminal offences under Articles   126 (2) and 208   (2) of the Criminal Code. 70.     Since 25 April 2000 Mr Tepsayev, a member of the Nazran (Ingushetia) Bar Association, had been admitted to the criminal proceedings against the applicants as their defence counsel. 71.     On 26 April 2000 the applicants were transferred to the Chernokozovo SIZO and underwent a medical examination, as required by relevant legal acts. The first applicant was diagnosed with a head trauma and subsequently received medical assistance in this connection. The examination revealed no other injuries on the applicants. While in detention, the second applicant received medical treatment in respect of chronic gastritis. 72.     On 4 October 2000 the applicants were released subject to an undertaking not to leave their place of residence. 73.     On 9 October 2000 the district prosecutor's office discontinued the criminal proceedings against the applicants with reference to the absence of sufficient evidence proving their involvement in the imputed offences. 74.     On 23 November 2000 the decision of 9 October 2000 was set aside by the republican prosecutor's office and the criminal proceedings against the applicants were resumed. 75.     On 20 January 2001 the district prosecutor's office again discontinued the criminal proceedings against the applicants in view of the fact that the applicants' involvement in the imputed offences had not been proven. 76.     On 29 October 2003 the decision of 20 January 2001 was quashed by the republican prosecutor's office and the case forwarded for additional investigation. It appears that the proceedings are pending at present and that in the context of these proceedings some investigative steps were taken in respect of the second applicant in 2005. D.     Documents submitted by the parties 1.     Documents submitted by the applicants 77.     Among a considerable number of other documents, the applicants submitted an undated list of items seized from their house, countersigned by their mother, two attesting witnesses and police officer S. Vlasenko from the Achkhoy-Martan VOVD. The document listed a Sony TV set, a Panasonic TV set, a Toshiba TV set, a Funai TV set, a Funai video recorder, a Panasonic video recorder, a Sony tape recorder, a Lexmark printer, a “Rus” film projector, a power adapter, a heater with two sets of exchangeable details, video and audio tapes, two briefcases of documents, and an “Elektronik” charging device. 78.     They also submitted written eye-witness statements from their father, sister and three neighbours confirming the search and seizure of the Chitayevs' property as well as the applicants' apprehension on 12   April   2000. 2.     Documents submitted by the Government 79.     In order to be able to assess the merits of the applicants' complaints, at the admissibility stage the Court invited the Government to submit documents from the file of the criminal investigation opened against the applicants as well as documents from the inquiry into the applicants' complaints concerning their ill-treatment and lawfulness of their detention, as well as those relating to the searches in the house of the Chitayev family and the seizure of their property. The documents submitted by the Government, both before and after the case was declared partly admissible, may be summarised as follows. (a)     Documents relating to the searches and seizures 80.     A handwritten document with an illegible title, drawn up on 15   January 2000 by a police officer of the Achkhoy-Martan VOVD, recorded the seizure of an FT-26 radio station and accessory equipment, technical documentation for that radio station, a camouflage cloak, a bullet-proof vest, eight registration plates for cars and tractors and a personal military card of serviceman B. It was indicated in the document that a copy of it had been given to the applicants' father. The document was signed by the police officer who had drawn it up and the applicants' father. In a report of 15   January 2001 the same police officer informed his superiors of the seizure of the aforementioned items at the house at 28 Matrosov Street in Achkhoy-Martan and indicated that they had been surrendered by the applicants' father. 81.     The Government did not furnish the Court with any documents concerning the search of 12 April 2000. (b)     Documents relating to the applicants' detention 82.     By a decision of 17 April 2000 an investigator of the prosecutor's office of the Achkhoy-Martan District ordered that criminal proceedings against the applicants be instituted under Articles 126 (2) and 208 of the Criminal Code on the basis of the results of the “operative measures” taken in the house of the Chitayev family at 32 [rather than 28] Matrosov Street in the town of Achkhoy-Martan on 12 April 2000. 83.     Two reports issued by an investigator of the district prosecutor's office in April 2000 [the date of issue is illegible] stated that the applicants had been apprehended on 17 April 2000 pursuant to Article 122 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The reports indicated that clear traces of a criminal offence had been found in the applicants' house, constituting a ground for their apprehension, and stated that it had been necessary to prevent them from absconding or obstructing the establishment of the truth. The reports also indicated that the applicants were suspected of having been involved in kidnappings and of participation in illegal armed groups in 1996-2000, that they had been informed of their rights as suspects and that the prosecutor of the Achkhoy-Martan District had been notified of the applicants' apprehension on the same date. The reports were signed by the investigator and the applicants. 84.     By two decisions of 19 April 2000 the investigator of the district prosecutor's office ordered that a measure of restraint in the form of custody be taken against the applicants. The orders referred to the objects seized in the house of the Chitayev family on 12 April 2000 and stated that the applicants were suspected of involvement in kidnappings of Russian servicemen in the period 1996-2000 and that in view of the gravity of the charges and the danger of the applicants' obstructing the establishment of the truth if at large, the applicants should be detained on remand. The orders also stated that the applicants had been informed about their right to challenge this measure of restraint in a court. They were signed by the investigator and applicants and countersigned by the district prosecutor and sent for execution to the head of the Chernokozovo SIZO. 85.     Two decisions of 20 April 2000 issued by the investigator of the district prosecutor's office ordered that the applicants be formally charged with the kidnappings of Russian servicemen for ransom, and participation in illegal armed groups, in the period 1996-2000. The decisions stated that the applicants had been notified of the charges against them and that the substance of the charges as well as the procedural rights of the accused had been explained to them. The decisions were signed by the investigator and the applicants, but the signature of the applicants' defence counsel was missing. 86.     A decision of the district prosecutor's office dated 20 January 2001 ordered that the criminal proceedings against the applicants be discontinued. This document outlined in detail the main procedural steps taken in the course of the criminal proceedings against the applicants. It stated, inter alia , that the applicants had been apprehended on 17 April 2000, that on 19   April 2000 their remand in custody had been authorised, that on 20   April   2000 they had been charged with criminal offences under Article   126 (2) and 208 (2) and that on 7 August 2000 the period of the applicants' detention on remand had been extended for 5 months and 22   days until 9   October 2000. 87.     A decision of the republican prosecutor's office dated 29   October   2003 set aside the decision of 20 January 2001 and ordered that the criminal proceedings against the applicants be resumed and an additional investigation be carried out. (c)     Documents relating to the applicants' a