CEDH · CASELAW;JUDGMENTS;CHAMBER;ENG — 28 mai 2009

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text-indent:14.2pt; text-align:justify; page-break-inside:avoid; page-break-after:avoid } .s53D63747 { margin-top:36pt; margin-bottom:36pt; page-break-inside:avoid; page-break-after:avoid } .sBFD8E45 { width:185.97pt; display:inline-block } .sA2E62387 { width:204.97pt; display:inline-block } .s7CB9076 { margin-top:36pt; margin-bottom:0pt; page-break-inside:avoid; page-break-after:avoid }       FIRST SECTION             CASE OF BASAYEVA AND OTHERS v. RUSSIA   (Applications nos. 15441/05 and 20731/04)                 JUDGMENT       STRASBOURG   28 May 2009     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 Basayeva and Others v. Russia, The European Court of Human Rights (First Section), sitting as a Chamber composed of:   Christos Rozakis, President,   Nina Vajić,   Anatoly Kovler,   Khanlar Hajiyev,   Dean Spielmann,   Sverre Erik Jebens,   Giorgio Malinverni, judges, and André Wampach, Deputy Section Registrar , Having deliberated in private on   7 May 2009, Delivers the following judgment, which was adopted on that date: PROCEDURE 1.     The case originated in two applications (no.   20731/04 and no.   15441/05) against the Russian Federation lodged with the Court on 30   April 2004 and 9 April 2005 respectively under Article 34 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (“the Convention”) by eleven Russian nationals listed below. The second applicant died on 7 December 2005. 2.     The applicants 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 Ms V. Milinchuk, the former Representative of the Russian Federation at the European Court of Human Rights and subsequently by their new representative, Mr G. Matyushkin. 3.     On 1 September 2005 the Court decided to apply Rule   41 of the Rules of Court and to grant priority treatment to both applications. 4.     On 2 April 2007 and 7 March 2008 the Court decided to give notice of the applications to the Government. 5.     Under the provisions of Article 29   §   3 of the Convention, the Court decided to examine the merits of the applications at the same time as their admissibility. 6.     The Government objected to the joint examination of the admissibility and merits of the applications. Having considered the Government's objection, the Court dismissed it. THE FACTS I.     THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE CASE 7.     The applicants in case no.   15441/05 are: 1) Ms Malayka (also spelled as Malika) Adamovna Basayeva, born in 1956, 2) Ms Nura Basayeva, born in 1937, 3) Ms Limon Lechayevna Basayeva, born in 1979, 4) Ms Kheda Lechayevna Basayeva, born in 1990, 5) Mr Khasan Khavazhovich Basayev, born in 2002, 6) Mr Khoza Salmanovich Basayev, born in 1960, The applicants in case no.   20731/04 are: 7) Ms Tatyana Aliyevna Dikayeva, born in 1969, 8) Mr Ali Dautovich Dikayev, born in 1932, 9) Ms Dagman Osmanovna Dautmirzayeva (also known as Dikayeva), born in 1977, 10) Ms Makka Dikayeva, born in 1997, and 11) Ms Madina Dikayeva, born in 1999. 8.     The applicants live in Martan-Chu, in Urus-Martan district, Chechnya. Prior to her death in December 2005 the second applicant also lived there. Applicants one to six are relatives of Mr Lecha Basayev, who was born in 1955. The first applicant is his wife; the second applicant was his mother; the third and the fourth applicants are his daughters; the fifth applicant is his grandson and the sixth applicant is his brother. The applicants from seven to eleven are the relatives of Mr Lema Dikayev, who was born in 1965. The seventh applicant is his sister; the eighth applicant is his father; the ninth applicant is his wife; the tenth and eleventh applicants are his daughters. At the material time Lema Dikayev had a second-degree disability; he had sutures in his abdominal area which had been put in 1996. 9.     At the material time Martan-Chu was under the full control of the Russian federal forces and the area was under a curfew. Russian military checkpoints were located on the roads leading to and from the settlement. A.     Disappearance of the applicants' relatives 1.     The applicants' account a)     Abduction of Lecha Basayev and subsequent events 10.     On the night of 5-6 July 2002 the applicants, their relatives and Lecha Basayev were sleeping in their house in Bazarnaya Street in the village of Martan-Chu, Urus-Martan district, Chechnya. The applicants' house had several interconnected bedrooms. The fifth applicant, who was just a few months old at the time, was sleeping in one room; the first and the fourth applicants were sleeping in the second bedroom and Lecha Basayev was sleeping in the third bedroom. It rained that night. 11.     At about 1.30 a.m. the first applicant woke up and heard someone banging on the door. When she approached the door, a group of about ten armed masked men with flashlights and in camouflage uniforms broke into the house and asked in Russian: “Where is Lecha Basayev?” The intruders dispersed into different rooms. They ordered the first applicant to lie down on the bed. The men pointed their machine guns at the first and the fourth applicants. 12.     The men neither introduced themselves nor produced any documents. They spoke unaccented Russian. The applicants thought that they were Russian military servicemen. The servicemen ransacked the house. When the first applicant tried to ask for explanations, she was ordered to shut up. During the search one of the servicemen asked the first applicant: “Did you go to visit anyone by car two or three days ago?” She answered that they had not been anywhere. Then he told her: “We know that. We know everything”. 13.     About five minutes later the servicemen took Lecha Basayev outside. They walked through the first and the fourth applicants' bedroom. The first applicant saw that her husband had his clothes on. A few minutes later the first and the fourth applicants heard the sound of adhesive tape. 14.     Having spent eight or ten minutes in the applicants' house, prior to leaving, the servicemen ordered the applicants to stay inside: “We will be watching the house, so if you dare to go outside, we will shoot you”. After that the servicemen left with Lecha Basayev. 15.     As soon as the servicemen left, the first applicant went outside. She did not see anyone in the yard. Approximately 50 metres from the house she saw a big group of military servicemen walking in the direction of the village centre. 16.     At about 2 a.m. the first applicant returned to the house. A few minutes later she informed the sixth applicant, who lived nearby, about the abduction of his brother, Lecha Basayev. The sixth applicant asked her to stay at home until the end of the curfew. 17.     Early in the morning on 6 July 2002 the first applicant followed the footprints left by the servicemen's boots. They were clearly visible on the wet ground. The traces ended on the paved road which led to the village centre. The first applicants assumed that if the military servicemen had come to their house on foot, they must have walked from the local military commander's office. 18.     After that, early in the same morning, the sixth applicant and the first applicant's son went to the head of the village administration. He told them that he would go to Urus-Martan and would find out who had taken Lecha Basayev away. 19.     Next, at about 7 a.m. on the same morning, the sixth applicant and the first applicant's son went to the house of Mr M., the head of the Urus-Martan district department of the interior (the ROVD). There they met the seventh and eighth applicants, who informed them that on the very same night Russian military servicemen had beaten and taken away their relative, Lema Dikayev. According to the seventh applicant, the military servicemen had arrived at their house in two APCs (armoured personnel carriers) and a military URAL lorry which had been parked next to the building of the village administration. The seventh and eighth applicants told the sixth applicant that the head of the ROVD was still sleeping, so the sixth applicant and his relative returned home. 20.     Later on the same morning the second applicant went to the head of the ROVD. The latter promised to her that he would find out who had apprehended Lecha Basayev. 21.     Before noon on 6 July 2002 the first applicant went to the ROVD, where in front of the building she met the seventh and eighth applicants and other villagers whose relatives had been detained in Martan-Chu the night before. 22.   Some time later   the applicants' fellow villager, who worked at the material time for the local police and whose name the applicants did not disclose, told the applicants that in the morning of 6 July 2002 he had seen Lecha Basayev and Lema Dikayev in the building of the ROVD. According to the witness, Lecha Basayev and Lema Dikayev had been sitting in the corridor with their hands tied behind their backs; their eyes and mouths had been taped over with adhesive tape. Four other residents of the village had also been detained at the ROVD: three members of Mr Az.'s family and Mr   B. These four men had been released on the afternoon of 6 July 2002. 23.     In support of their statements, the applicants of Lecha Basayev's family submitted the following accounts: an account by the first applicant dated 5   February 2004; an account by the seventh applicant dated 9   February 2002; an account by the sixth applicant dated 9 February 2004; an account by Mrs Kh. D. dated 9 February 2002 and an account by the fourth applicant dated 12 February 2004. b)     Abduction of Lema Dikayev and subsequent events 24.     On the night of 5-6 July 2002 the applicants, Lema Dikayev and his mother, Mrs Dikayeva, were sleeping in their family house at 24   Pionerskaya Street, Martan-Chu. At about 2.00 a.m. on 6   July 2002 twelve armed men in camouflage uniforms and masks broke into the house. The men did not identify themselves. The applicants thought that they were Russian military servicemen as they spoke unaccented Russian. The servicemen pointed their guns at the Dikayevs and ordered them to stay in their beds. They searched the house without producing any warrant. 25.     After the search the servicemen took Lema Dikayev out of his bedroom to the corridor, kicked him and beat him with rifle butts. The applicants were kept in their bedrooms, but through the open doors they could see and hear the servicemen beating their relative. The ninth applicant saw the intruders beating her husband and ordering him to open his mouth. The applicants saw him bleeding. They concluded that it was the result of the abdominal sutures' splitting open. When the seventh applicant asked the servicemen where they intended to take Lema, one of them replied to her in Russian that they would see him the next day in the ROVD. 26.     The servicemen blindfolded Lema Dikayev and taped his mouth with adhesive tape. They put clothing and shoes on him and tied his arms behind his back. After that they locked the applicants and Mrs Dikayeva in the bedrooms and took Lema Dikayev outside. After Lema Dikayev's beating spots of blood were left on the floor of the corridor. 27.     The seventh applicant managed to go outside and followed the servicemen. She noticed APCs and a URAL lorry parked about 200 metres from the house. The servicemen wiped the blood from Lema Dikayev, loaded him into one of the APCs and drove away. The applicant returned home and let her relatives out. 28.     In the afternoon of 6 July 2002 the servicemen returned to the Dikayevs' house and searched it. They did not produce any search warrant. 29.     On 6 July 2002 the applicants and their relatives went to the ROVD to obtain information about Lema Dikayev. One of the police officers told them that he had seen Lema in the ROVD building sitting on the floor in the hallway with his arms tied behind his back and his mouth taped over with adhesive tape. The seventh applicant and Mr T.Sh. visited Mr M., the head of the ROVD, and told him that Lema Dikayev had been seen on the ROVD premises. The officer promised to help and invited the seventh applicant to make complaints to the prosecutor's office and the ROVD. 30.     On the same date the seventh applicant contacted, both in person and in writing, the district prosecutor's office, the ROVD, the Urus-Martan district military commander's office (the district military commander's office) and the local administration, complaining that her brother had been abducted. 31.     On the evening of 6 July 2002 the officers from the ROVD told the applicants that Lema Dikayev was not detained in the ROVD building. 32.     On 8 July 2002 Russian servicemen again visited the Dikayevs, told them that they were searching for weapons and carried out another search. Then they threatened to set the house on fire. The seventh applicant ran to the head of the ROVD, Mr M., and asked him to help her. Mr M. contacted someone on a portable radio and ordered the servicemen not to set the house on fire. The servicemen obeyed. When they were leaving the house, one of the officers, who introduced himself as Georgiy, told the eighth applicant that the servicemen had acted under the orders of Mr   G., the Urus-Martan district military commander. 33.     On same date, 8 July 2002, an official of the local administration told the seventh applicant that her brother was being detained on the premises of the district military commander's office. After that the seventh applicant visited the military commander, Mr G., who confirmed that Lema Dikayev was detained in their office. Mr G. also told the applicant that her brother had been implicated in the murder of Mr Kh.T., an officer of a law-enforcement agency. The seventh applicant suggested that if that was the case then Lema Dikayev should have been committed to trial. Mr G. replied that it was useless to try Chechens. 34.     On an unspecified date in August 2003 the seventh applicant visited the head of the ROVD, Mr M., who told her that if she was patient for at least a year her brother would return home. When the applicant asked Mr   M. whether he had any information concerning Lema Dikayev's fate, he said that he risked being killed if he replied. 35.     The applicants continued their search for Lema Dikayev and contacted the Federal Security Service (“the FSB”), prosecutors' offices at different levels, the Chechnya administration and the Russian President. 36.     In support of their statements the applicants of Lema Dikayev's family submitted the following accounts: a statement by the ninth applicant dated 28 March 2003; two statements by the seventh applicant dated 29   March 2003 and 9 February 2004 and a hand-drawn map of the applicants' house. 2.     Information submitted by the Government 37.     The Government did not challenge most of the facts as presented by the applicants. According to their submission, “at about 2 a.m. on 6   July 2002 unidentified armed persons in camouflage uniforms and masks kidnapped from their houses situated in Bazarnaya Street in Martan-Chu in the Urus-Martan district of Chechnya Mr Lecha Salmanovich Basayev and Mr Lema Aliyevich Dikayev and took them away to an unknown destination”. B.     The official investigation into the abduction 1.     Information provided by the applicants 38.     On 9 July 2002 the first applicant complained to the Urus-Martan district prosecutor's office (the district prosecutor's office) about the abduction of Lecha Basayev. The applicant did not retain a copy of her complaint. 39.     On 1 August 2002 the eighth applicant wrote to the district military commander's office and the district prosecutor's office describing in detail the circumstances of Lema Dikayev's abduction and asking for assistance in establishing his whereabouts. 40.     On 2 August 2002 the first applicant complained again to the district prosecutor's office that Lecha Basayev had been abducted. In her letter she stated that he had been abducted by a group of approximately twenty unidentified masked armed men and pointed out that her complaints about it to a number of State authorities had produced no results. 41.     At some point in August 2002 a district police officer visited Lecha Basayev's house and obtained a statement from the fourth applicant concerning the circumstances of Lecha Basayev's abduction. 42.     On 23 August 2002 the Urus-Martan district prosecutor's office (the district prosecutor's office) initiated an investigation into the abduction of Lecha Basayev and Lema Dikayev under Article 126   §   2 of the Criminal Code (aggravated kidnapping). The case file was assigned number 61117. In the submitted documents it is also referred to under no.   6117. 43.     On 24 August 2002 the first and seventh applicants were granted victim status in the criminal case. 44.     On 12 October 2002 the military prosecutor's office of the United Group Alignment (the UGA) forwarded the eighth applicant's complaint to the military prosecutor's office of military unit no.   20102. 45.     On 23 October 2002 the district prosecutor's office suspended the investigation in the criminal case for failure to identify the perpetrators. 46.     On 20 December 2002 the seventh applicant wrote to the Chechnya prosecutor's office stating that her brother had been taken away by representatives of federal forces and asking for his whereabouts to be established. 47.     On 5 February and 3 April 2003 the Chechnya prosecutor's office informed the first applicant that on 23 October 2002 the investigation in the criminal case had been suspended. 48.     On 20 February, 22 March, 5 April and 25 June 2003 the prosecutors' offices forwarded the applicants' complaints about their relatives' abduction to the prosecutors' offices of lower levels for examination. 49.     On 21 April 2003 the seventh applicant requested the district prosecutor's office to inform her about the progress of the investigation in the criminal case. 50.     On 22 May 2003 the military prosecutor's office of military unit no.   20102 informed the applicants that as a result of their query it had been established that the military servicemen had not been implicated in the disappearance of Lecha Basayev and Lema Dikayev. 51.     On 17 June 2003 the seventh applicant wrote to the Chechnya prosecutor's office complaining about her brother's abduction and the unauthorised search of their family house. She described in detail the circumstances of Lema Dikayev's abduction and stated that the abductors had beaten him up in the presence of his family members. She requested the authorities to resume the investigation in the criminal case, to establish her brother's whereabouts and to take necessary measures to identify the culprits. 52.     On 9 July 2003 the Chechnya prosecutor's office forwarded the seventh applicant's complaint to the investigator and ordered that the investigation in the criminal case be resumed due to its incompleteness. 53.     On 21 August 2003 the district prosecutor's office informed the applicants that the investigation in the criminal case had been resumed. 54.     On 23 January 2004 the district prosecutor's office again resumed the investigation in the criminal case. 55.     On 30 January 2004 the Chechnya prosecutor's office informed the seventh applicant about the decision of 23 January 2004 and noted that investigative measures were being taken to solve the crime. 56.     On 31 January 2004 the Chechnya department of the FSB informed the seventh applicant that the FSB did not have any information concerning her brother's whereabouts and fate. 57.     On 14 April 2004 the seventh applicant wrote to the district military commander's office requesting assistance in the search for her brother. She described in detail the circumstances of Lema Dikayev's abduction and stated that the abductors had beaten him in the presence of his family members. 58.     On 4 September 2004 the first applicant again complained to a number of State authorities, including the district prosecutor's office, the ROVD and the Urus-Martan district department of the FSB, about Lecha Basayev's abduction. She stated that her husband had been abducted by a group of servicemen of the Russian federal forces; that she had complained about it to various law enforcement agencies and that none of them had accepted responsibility for the abduction. 59.     On 21 November 2004 the first applicant complained to the district prosecutor's office. In her letter she described the circumstances of her husband's abduction. She expressed her concerns in connection with the absence of any information about Lecha Basayev's whereabouts for more than two years and stated that the authorities had been procrastinating with the investigation. The applicant asked the prosecutor's office to take the following measures: informing her about the progress and the results of the investigation; reopening of the investigation and conducting it in a thorough and effective manner; establishing and questioning of the employees of the local military commander's office; establishing who had used APCs and URAL vehicles in the area on the night of 6 July 2002; questioning of the vehicles' drivers and of the relevant military personnel; collection of documentation reflecting the use of the vehicles; questioning of the military servicemen who had manned the checkpoint in Martan-Chu on the night of 6 July 2002; and transfer of the criminal case, if necessary, to the military prosecutor's office for investigation. 60.     On 21 November 2004 the seventh applicant complained to the district prosecutor's office and stated that her brother Lema Dikayev had been abducted by representatives of law-enforcement agencies who had subjected him to beatings. She further stated that on 6 July 2002 Mr G. G., the district military commander, had informed her that her brother had been detained at the district military commander's office; that after her brother's abduction, unidentified men had twice arrived at their house in the same military vehicles as the ones used during her brother's abduction. The seventh applicant requested the district prosecutor's office to inform her about the progress in the investigation, to resume the proceedings and take basic investigative measures. 61.     On 21 December 2004 the SRJI reiterated the request, describing the circumstances of Lema Dikayev's abduction and stating that he had been subjected to beatings by the abductors. No response was given to either of the requests. 62.     On 10 October and 20 December 2005 and on 19 June 2006 the eighth applicant requested the district prosecutor's office to resume the investigation in the criminal case and provide him with access to the investigation file. No response was given to these requests. 63.     The applicants received no other information relating to the investigation into the abduction of their relatives. 2.     Information submitted by the Government 64.     On 1 August 2002 the first and the seventh applicants complained about the abduction of Lecha Basayev and Lema Dikayev to the district prosecutor's office and requested assistance in establishing their whereabouts. 65.     On 23 August 2002 the district prosecutor's office instituted an investigation into the abduction of Lecha Basayev and Lema Dikayev under Article 126 § 2 of the Russian Criminal Code (aggravated kidnapping). The case file was assigned number 61117. 66.     On 24 August 2002 the first and the seventh applicants were granted victim status in the criminal case. The seventh applicant was questioned and stated that on 6 July 2002 she and her relatives were sleeping at home; at about 2 a.m. a group of unidentified armed men in camouflage uniforms and masks had broken into the house. They had gone to the room of her brother Lema Dikayev and taken him outside. Lema Dikayev's father (the eighth applicant) had asked the men where they were taking his son; in response he had been told that Lema Dikayev could be exchanged for a machine gun. According to the applicant, she had followed the intruders and had seen her brother being put into an APC. 67.     On 23 October 2002 the investigators suspended the investigation in the criminal case for failure to establish the perpetrators. 68.     On 21 August 2003 the investigation in the criminal case was resumed because not all necessary measures had been taken. The applicants were informed about this decision. 69.     On 21 September 2003 the investigators suspended the investigation in the criminal case for failure to establish the perpetrators. The applicants were informed about this decision. 70.     On 23 January 2004 the investigation in the criminal case was resumed owing to “incompleteness of the conducted investigation”. The applicants were informed about this decision. 71.     On 23 February 2004 the investigators suspended the investigation in the criminal case for failure to establish the perpetrators. The applicants were informed about this decision. 72.     On 8 November 2005 the investigation in the criminal case was resumed. The applicants were informed about this decision. 73.     On 9 November 2005 the investigators suspended the investigation in the criminal case owing to the failure to establish the identity of the perpetrators. The applicants were informed about this decision. 74.     On 20 June 2006 the investigation in the criminal case was resumed. The applicants were informed about this decision. 75.     On 21 June 2006 the investigators suspended the investigation in the criminal case for failure to establish the perpetrators. The applicants were informed about this decision. 76.     On 7 June 2007 the investigation in the criminal case was resumed. The applicants were informed about this decision. 77.     On an unspecified date the investigators questioned the ninth applicant, who stated that at about 2 a.m. on 6 July 2002 a group of unidentified armed men in camouflage uniforms and masks had broken into her family house, pushed her husband Lema Dikayev off the bed; kicked him and beat him with rifle butts. After that the men had searched the house for about half an hour; then they had taped over Lema Dikayev's mouth, bound his hands and taken him away to an unknown destination. 78.     On an unspecified date the investigators conducted a crime scene examination in Lecha Basayev's house. Nothing was collected from the scene. 79.     On an unspecified date the investigators requested that the ROVD provide them with character references for Lecha Basayev. According to their response, although Lecha Basayev was given good references by his neighbours, on 23 May 2002 he had been sentenced to three years' probation for illegal purchase and storage of explosives and drugs. 80.     On unspecified dates the investigators requested that the ROVD, the Chechnya Department of the FSB, various departments of the Ministry of the Interior in Chechnya, military units and military commanders' offices inform the investigation whether they had arrested Lecha Basayev and Lema Dikayev or had brought any criminal charges against them. According to the responses, these agencies did not have any information concerning either a special operation conducted on 6 July 2002 or the whereabouts of the missing men. The prosecutors' offices of various levels in Chechnya informed the investigators that the missing men had not been detained by law enforcement agencies; criminal or administrative charges had not been brought against them; neither of the missing men had applied for medical assistance and their corpses had not been found. 81.     On an unspecified date the investigators questioned Lecha Basayev's son, Mr Kh.B., who stated that at about 2 a.m. on 6 July 2002 he and his family had been sleeping at home when a group of unidentified armed men in camouflage uniforms had broken into their house. The men had requested his passport. Having checked his passport, the men had asked about the whereabouts of Lecha Basayev, who was sleeping in another room. Some time later the witness had seen that the armed men had taken his father outside. When the witness had gone outside, the armed men had already left. As it had rained that night, the witness was able to see tyre imprints of armoured vehicles on the ground next to the house. The imprints had led in the direction of Urus-Martan. In the morning the witness had found out from his fellow villagers that another resident of Martan-Chu, Lema Dikayev, had also been abducted on the same night. 82.     On an unspecified date the investigators again questioned the first applicant who stated that at about 2 a.m. on 6 July 2002 a group of unidentified armed men had broken into their house. The men, who spoke unaccented Russian, had been wearing camouflage uniforms and masks. They had told her to go to another room and started searching the house. Upon completion of the search the men had told her not to follow them. Sometime later the applicant had gone outside and had seen that the armed men were walking with her husband Lecha Basayev towards the centre of Martan-Chu. The applicant had attempted to run after them, but the armed men had told her that they would open fire if she followed them. The men had not used physical force against Lecha Basayev. They had not told the applicant where they were taking her husband, but had promised to release him at some point later. 83.     On an unspecified date the investigators questioned Lecha Basayev's relative, Mrs Kh.D. who stated that at about 2 a.m. on 6 July 2002 a group of ten to fifteen armed masked men in camouflage uniforms had broken into their house. The witness had got scared and started screaming. The men, who spoke unaccented Russian, had told her to be quiet and stay in her room. She had heard Lecha Basayev's voice in the corridor; then she had heard the sound of adhesive tape. After the armed men had left the house she had gone out of her room. The second applicant had told her that the intruders had taken Lecha Basayev away. 84.     It appears that on an unspecified date the investigators again questioned the seventh applicant, who stated that at about 2 a.m. on 6 July 2002 a group of armed men in camouflage uniforms and masks had broken into their house. The men had immediately proceeded to the room of Lema Dikayev. When the eighth applicant had asked the men where they were taking Lema Dikayev, they replied that if he wanted to see his son he would need to exchange him for a machine gun. After that they had taken Lema outside, put him in an APC and had driven away in an unknown direction. According to the witness, on 8 July 2002 she had spoken to the district military commander who had told her that her brother Lema Dikayev had been detained at the request of the head of the ROVD and the head of the local administration, as they suspected that Lema Dikayev had been involved in the murder of Mr Kh.T. 85.     On an unspecified date the investigators questioned the ninth applicant, who stated that at about 2 a.m. on 6 July 2002 a group of armed men in camouflage uniforms had broken into their house. The men had immediately gone to the room where she and her husband had been sleeping. The men had started beating Lema Dikayev with rifle butts. After that they had ordered the witness to bring her husband's passport. However, then they had stopped her and told her that they would take the documents themselves. After that they had searched the house for about half an hour. Having finished the search the men had covered her husband's eyes and mouth with adhesive tape and bound his hands. They had told the witness that they would release her husband after receiving answers to some questions. The intruders, who spoke unaccented Russian, had ordered the family members to stay in the house, threatening to throw a grenade inside if the applicants disobeyed. According to the witness, she had heard the sounds of armoured vehicles parked next to the house. 86.     On 7 June 2007 the district prosecutor's office together with the ROVD and other law enforcement agencies drew up a plan of investigative measures to be taken in criminal case no.   61117. However, the investigators failed to obtain any relevant information with this plan . 87.     On 8 June 2007 the investigators requested that detention centres in various regions of the Northern Caucasus inform them whether Lecha Basayev and Lema Dikayev were detained on their premises. According to the responses, the missing men had never been detained in any of the detention centres. 88.     On 11 June 2007 the investigators questioned Mr A.Sh., Lema Dikayev's neighbour, who stated that on the night of the abduction at about 2 a.m. he had heard a car engine. He had gone to his gate when an armed masked man in camouflage uniform had appeared in front of him. The man had pointed his machine gun at him and ordered to get inside. According to the witness, at that moment he had seen a group of five to six armed men in masks and camouflage uniforms walk by his house in the direction of Pochtovaya Street. The witness had got scared and gone inside where he stayed until the morning. Early in the morning he had found out from Mrs   S.D., Lema Dikayev's relative, that Lema Dikayev and another resident of Martan-Chu, Lecha Basayev, had been abducted that night. 89.     Between 14 and 28 June 2007 the investigators questioned five other residents of Martan-Chu, Mr S.A., Mr A.E., Mr A.Sh., Mr A.A. and Mr   B.Sh., each of whom stated that they had found out about the abduction on the morning of 6 July 2002. 90.     On 28 June 2007 the investigators questioned Mr M., who had been the head of the ROVD at the material time. According to the witness, in July 2002 he had been informed that a group of unidentified armed men had abducted two residents of Martan-Chu, Lecha Basayev and Lema Dikayev. He did not remember that on 6 July 2002 the seventh applicant had told him that on 6 July 2002 her brother Lema Dikayev had been seen detained in the ROVD and that on 8 July 2002 she had requested assistance in the search for her brother. According to the witness, he had not told the applicant that if she was patient for a year, then her brother Lema Dikayev would return home. 91.     On 2 July 2007 the investigators again questioned the seventh applicant, who stated that at about 4 p.m. on 6 July 2002 she had seen a UAZ vehicle and a VAZ-2107 car leaving the premises of the district military commander's office. Some time later that day she had been told that unidentified persons had arrived at her house. When the seventh applicant had returned home, her father, the eighth applicant, informed her that unidentified men in similar vehicles had searched their house looking for weapons. The applicant had concluded that the unidentified men had arrived in the vehicles she had seen at the military commander's office. According to the applicant, next to the building of the local administration she had seen the APCs in which the abductors had taken away her brother. The applicant further stated that on 8 July 2002 she had been in Urus-Martan when someone had informed her that unidentified persons had arrived at her house and were going to set it on fire; one of them had told the eighth applicant that they were acting in accordance with the order issued by the military commander, Mr G. The applicant and her relative Mr   V.Sh. had gone to Mr M., the head of the ROVD, and requested him to stop them. The head of the ROVD had contacted someone on a portable radio and after that he had told the applicant that her house would not be burned down. 92.     On an unspecified date the investigators questioned Mr A.K., the head of the local administration, who stated that on the dates specified by the seventh applicant no APCs had been parked next to the administration building. 93.     On 3 July 2007 the investigators questioned the applicants' relative Mr V.Sh., who stated that around 8 July 2002 the seventh applicant had asked him to speak to Mr M., the head of the ROVD, as unidentified persons had arrived at her house and were conducting a search. The seventh applicant had not been present during the conversation as she was waiting in the hallway. The head of the ROVD had not contacted anyone by portable radio, but he had promised to help resolve the situation. 94.     It appears that on an unspecified date the investigators again questioned Mr M., the head of the ROVD, who provided a statement similar to the one given by Mr V.Sh. 95.     According to the Government, the investigation in criminal case no. 61117 was suspended and resumed on several occasions. For instance, the investigation was suspended on 7 July 2007 for failure to establish the identity of the perpetrators and resumed on 15 August 2007 for additional investigative measures to be taken; then it was suspended on 15 September 2007 and resumed on 4 May 2008 for the same reasons. 96.     On 16 August 2007 the investigators questioned the eighth applicant, who stated that on the night of 6 July 2002 his son Lema Dikayev had been abducted by a group of men in camouflage uniforms and masks who were armed with automatic weapons. That night the witness had not heard any military vehicles. On the morning of 6 July 2002 he had been told that another resident of Martan-Chu, Lecha Basayev, had also been abducted on the same night. In the afternoon of 6 July 2002, a group of armed servicemen without masks had arrived at his house. One of them had told the witness that according to some information in their possession, a machine gun, an automatic rifle and two grenades had been hidden in the household. After that they had searched the roof and found what they were looking for. The same group of men had returned to the house at some point later and had again searched the household. The witness had spoken to one of the servicemen; however, the witness did not remember that this serviceman had told him that the group was acting under the orders of the military commander, Mr G. 97.     On 16 August 2007 the investigators also questioned a resident of Martan-Chu, Mr Yu.I., who stated that at the material time he had been the deputy head of the Martan-Chu village administration. On the morning of 6   July 2002 he had been told that during the night, at about 2 a.m., unidentified armed men in camouflage uniforms and masks had abducted Lecha Basayev and Lema Dikayev. One of their relatives had complained about it to the Martan-Chu village administration. According to the witness, he had called the head of the ROVD, Mr M., and requested information about the circumstances of the abduction. The latter had told him that he had not heard about the search of the Dikayevs' house. According to the witness, he had not seen military vehicles on 6 July 2002 and he had not issued any orders to the military commander Mr G. concerning the detention of Lecha Basayev and Lema Dikayev. 98.     On 6 September 2007 the investigation of the criminal case was transferred from the Urus-Martan district prosecutor's office to the Achkhoy-Martan district prosecutor's office. 99.     On 11 September 2007 the investigators questioned the applicants' neighbour, Mr S.A., who stated that he had found out from his fellow villagers that during the night of 6 July 2002 unidentified armed men had abducted Lecha Basayev and Lema Dikayev. According to the witness, he had not heard any noise which could have been caused by armoured vehicles. 100.     The Government further submitted that the applicants had been duly informed of all decisions taken during the investigation. 101.     In response to requests by the Court the Government disclosed several documents from criminal case no.   61117 stating that the investigation was in progress and therefore disclosure of other documents would be in violation of Article 161 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, since the file contained personal data concerning witnesses or other participants in the criminal proceedings. The Government submitted copies of the following documents: 1)   a procedural decision to institute an investigation into the abduction dated 23 August 2002; 2)   two decisions to grant victim status in the criminal case to the first and the seventh applicants dated 24 August 2002; 3)   decisions to suspended the criminal investigation dated 23 October 2002, 21 September 2003, 23 February 2004, 9 November 2005, and 21   June 2006; 4)   decisions to resume the investigation in the criminal case dated 21   August 2003, 21 January 2004, 8 November 2005, 20 June 2006, and 7   June 2007; 5)   the investigators' decisions to take up the criminal case; 6)   letters informing the applicants about the suspensions and the resumptions of the investigation in the criminal case. II.     RELEVANT DOMESTIC LAW 102.     For a summary of relevant domestic law see Akhmadova and Sadulayeva v. Russia (no. 40464/02, §§   67-69, 10   May 2007). THE LAW I.     JOINDER OF THE APPLICATIONS 103.     In