CEDH · CASELAW;JUDGMENTS;CHAMBER;ENG — 10 février 2011

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display:inline-block } .s4A0CEAF8 { width:194.77pt; display:inline-block } .s7602FED2 { width:18.21pt; display:inline-block } .sC1AC44A4 { width:228.11pt; display:inline-block }       FIRST SECTION                 CASE OF DUDAROVY v. RUSSIA   (Application no. 5382/07)             JUDGMENT     STRASBOURG   10 February 2011   FINAL   20/06/2011     This judgment has become final under Article   44 §   2 (c) of the Convention. It may be subject to editorial revision. In the case of Dudarovy v. Russia, The European Court of Human Rights (First Section), sitting as a Chamber composed of:   Christos Rozakis, President,   Anatoly Kovler,   Elisabeth Steiner,   Dean Spielmann,   Sverre Erik Jebens,   Giorgio Malinverni,   George Nicolaou, judges, and Søren Nielsen, Section Registrar , Having deliberated in private on 18 January 2011, Delivers the following judgment, which was adopted on that date: PROCEDURE 1.     The case originated in an application (no. 5382/07) 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 Akhmed Dudarov and Ms   Lyubi Dudarova (“the applicants”), on 23 January 2007. 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 Mr G. Matyushkin, the Representative of the Russian Federation at the European Court of Human Rights. 3.     On 16 March 2009 the President of the First Section decided to apply Rule   41 of the Rules of Court and to grant priority treatment to the application and to give notice of the application to the Government. Under the provisions of the former Article 29 § 3 of the Convention, it was decided to examine the merits of the application at the same time as its admissibility. 4.     The Government objected to the joint examination of the admissibility and merits of the application and to the application of Rule 41 of the Rules of Court. Having considered the Government's objection, the Court dismissed it. I.     THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE CASE 5.     The first applicant was born in 1951 and the second applicant was born in 1952. They live in the village of Ken-Yurt, in the Chechen Republic. 6.     The first applicant is the father and the second applicant is the mother of Mr Magomed Dudarov, born in 1979. A.     Arrest of Magomed Dudarov in 2001 7.     On an unspecified date in 2001, while Magomed Dudarov was studying at the Grozny Institute of Petroleum, members of the Russian security forces allegedly arrested him along with other students. He was held in detention for thirteen days. When he was released, he could not move allegedly because of beatings inflicted on him while in detention. After Magomed Dudarov had finished his studies the applicants decided to move to Ken-Yurt because they feared for their son's life. In Ken-Yurt they settled down at 11, Klubnaya Street. B.     Disappearance of Magomed Dudarov 1.     The applicants' account 8 .     On the night of 17 November 2002 the second applicant and Magomed Dudarov were at home in Ken-Yurt, while the first applicant was in Grozny where he was working. 9.     According to the applicants, at the material time the village was under the effective control of the Russian federal forces. There was a curfew and the authorities maintained manned checkpoints at the entry to and exit from the village. 10.     At about 2 a.m. on 18 November 2002 Magomed Dudarov woke up the second applicant and told her that there was a group of men in military uniforms in their courtyard. He told her not to open the door and to cry out for help. At that moment, through a window the second applicant saw five or six men in camouflage uniforms jump over the fence. She got frightened and started shouting, crying out to neighbours for help and knocking on gas pipes to attract their attention. The men outside started knocking on the front door. The second applicant asked them in Chechen to wait until she got dressed but they continued knocking. 11.     Having smashed a window, the men broke into the house. Two or three of them came running to the room where the second applicant and Magomed Dudarov were. The intruders wore masks and light-coloured camouflage uniforms with yellow spots. They were armed with submachine guns. They did not introduce themselves. One of them requested Magomed Dudarov's identity papers. He spoke unaccented Russian. Two other men immediately grabbed hold of Magomed Dudarov. The second applicant showed the intruders Magomed Dudarov's identity papers but no one looked at them. The two men holding Magomed Dudarov pinioned his arms and moved him towards the exit. Although he was wearing only tracksuit bottoms and was barefoot, they refused to let him put anything on and took him outside. The second applicant attempted to find out where they were taking him but the intruders did not reply. 12 .     When the second applicant went outside she saw a four-wheeled armoured vehicle and a Ural truck. The second applicant did not know much about military equipment but found out later from other persons that the military vehicle had been an armoured reconnaissance vehicle (“ARV”, бронированная разведывательно-дозорная машина (БРДМ) ). The intruders loaded Magomed Dudarov into the Ural truck, fired two shots in the air and went off. The second applicant was too distressed to memorise the number plates on the vehicles. 13.     After the intruders had left, the applicants' neighbours came to the house. Subsequently, two spent cartridges left from the shots fired in the air were found in the courtyard by the gate. The applicants gave the cartridges to a local police officer named Sultan who later asserted that he had lost them. 14.     According to the applicants, a certain officer S. of the local police who guarded the building of the village administration on the night of 18   November 2002 allegedly told the second applicant that he and his fellow officers had seen the intruders pass by the administration building in their vehicles, specifically an ARV. According to S., the armed men had come from the direction of the village of Tolstoy-Yurt and turned off the headlights before entering Ken-Yurt. They had returned in the same direction. 15.     The description of the above events is based on the applicants' account given in their application form, the written statements of the first applicant and the applicants' neighbour Z.Sh. made on 22 January 2007 and the second applicant's written statement made on 4 December 2006. 16 .     The applicants have had no news of Magomed Dudarov since 18   November 2002. 2.     Information submitted by the Government 17.     The Government submitted that at about 2.15 a.m. on 18 November 2002 a group of unidentified armed men in camouflage uniforms had abducted Magomed Dudarov from his house at 11 Klubnaya Street, Ken ‑ Yurt. C.     The search for Magomed Dudarov and the investigation 1.     The applicants' account 18.     On the morning of 18 November 2002 the applicants' neighbours went to Grozny and told the first applicant about the abduction of Magomed Dudarov. He immediately went to Tolstoy-Yurt and complained about the abduction of his son to the local military commander's office, the department of the interior and the prosecutor's office. 19.     On 10 December 2002 the prosecutor's office of the Groznenskiy District (“the district prosecutor's office”) instituted a criminal investigation into the abduction of Magomed Dudarov under Article 126 § 2 of the Criminal Code (aggravated kidnapping). The case file was given the number   56189. 20.     On 30 December 2002 the first applicant was granted victim status in the proceedings in case no. 56189. He was notified of the decision on the same day. 21.     By a letter of 8 January 2003, the deputy head of the Department of the Federal Security Service in the Chechen Republic (“the Chechen Department of the FSB”) informed the second applicant that Magomed Dudarov was not on the list of wanted persons and that the department had no information on his whereabouts. 22.     On 2 March 2003 the military commander of the Leninskiy District of Grozny informed the prosecutor of military unit no. 20102 that the commander's office had not carried out any operation aimed at abducting Magomed Dudarov. 23.     On 9 June 2003 a prosecutor with the 5th department of the prosecutor's office of the United Group Alignment forwarded the first applicant's complaint about the abduction of his son to the prosecutor of military unit no. 20102. 24.     On 3 July 2003, the prosecutor of military unit no. 20102 informed the first applicant that his complaint contained no evidence that servicemen of that military unit had been involved in the abduction of Magomed Dudarov. A letter along the same lines dated 21 August 2003 was sent to the second applicant. 25.     On 8 June 2005 the district prosecutor's office provided the first applicant with the following information concerning the investigation. On   10 December 2002 the district prosecutor's office had launched the investigation into the abduction of Magomed Dudarov. Following that decision, the investigators had granted the first applicant victim status on 30   December 2002 and had interviewed the second applicant and inspected the crime scene on 17 January 2003. On 10 February 2003 the investigation had been suspended owing to the failure to identify the perpetrators. It had been resumed on 16 August 2004 and had been adjourned a month later for failure to establish those responsible. On 7 June 2005 the investigation had been reopened, following which, on 16 and 17 June 2005 the investigators had interviewed as witnesses A.D., M.D. M.A., M.E., A.S. and U.S. On 8   July 2005 the investigation had been suspended owing to its failure to identify those responsible for the abduction of the applicants' son. 26.     On 7 April 2006 the investigation was resumed, of which the first applicant was informed by a letter of the same date. 2.     Information submitted by the Government (a)     The Government's refusal to submit the entire criminal file 27 .     Despite specific requests by the Court, the Government did not disclose most of the contents of criminal case no. 56189, providing only copies of the decisions to open, suspend and resume the investigation; records of several witness interviews; crime scene inspection reports; requests for information addressed to various State authorities and some of the replies to them. The Government relied on Article 161 of the Russian Code of Criminal Procedure and specifically stated that they had withheld from the bulk of materials submitted to the Court the documents containing information on location and activities of military units and special-purpose squads of law-enforcement authorities. 28.     A considerable part of the documents submitted by the Government were illegible or legible only in part. 29.     The information contained in the documents submitted by them, in so far as they are legible, can be summarised as follows. (b)     Opening of the investigation 30.     On 22 November 2002 the first applicant applied to the Groznenskiy District Department of the Interior (ROVD) in connection with the abduction of his son. 31.     On the same date an investigator of the ROVD interviewed the second applicant. She stated that at about 2.15 a.m. on 18 November 2002 a group of armed men in masks and camouflage uniforms had burst into her house where she had been with Magomed Dudarov. In particular, they had first requested her to open the door but had then smashed a window to get inside. They had taken her son away, without letting him get dressed. Outside, the applicant had seen the abductors' vehicles, in particular, an ARV and a Ural truck, which had been parked at the house. When the abductors had left, the neighbours had told the second applicant that there had also been other vehicles parked further up the street. 32.     On 10 December 2002 the district prosecutor's office instituted an investigation into the abduction of the applicants' son under Article 126   §   2 of the Criminal Code (aggravated kidnapping). The case file was given the number 56189. 33 .     On the same date the investigator in charge of the case compiled a plan of the following investigative steps to be taken: requesting information from law-enforcement authorities on Magomed Dudarov's eventual participation in illegal armed groups or other illegal activities and obtaining his personal characteristics; inspecting the crime scene; granting victim status “to someone of Magomed Dudarov's family”; establishing whether any special operations had been conducted in Ken-Yurt and identifying witnesses to the abduction and interviewing them. The deadline for those steps to be taken was set at 11-15 December 2003. The document also mentioned that the investigation was considering the theory that Magomed Dudarov had been abducted by servicemen in connection with his implication in illegal armed groups. 34 .     On 23 December 2002 the deputy prosecutor of the Groznenskiy district instructed the investigator in charge of criminal case no.   56189 to activate the investigation and to redraft the plan of investigative steps by making it more specific. Among other things, the investigator was instructed to speed up the carrying out of the crime scene inspection; to verify whether there was evidence of the shooting, seize any items of evidence, such as spent cartridges, append them to the criminal file and carry out a ballistic examination of them; to interview without delay the relatives of the abducted man; to grant victim status to the first applicant; to identify possible eyewitnesses to the abduction and the neighbours who, according to the second applicant, had seen the military vehicles at the crime scene; to instruct the ROVD to establish whether a special operation had been conducted in Ken-Yurt on 18 November 2002, who had been in its command, with which law-enforcement authorities it had been coordinated, which forces had participated in it and what equipment had been used, in particular which military vehicles; to request information on those points from the military commander of the district and of the Chechen Republic, heads of the United Group Alignment (UGA) and other authorities; and also to ask them whether, even in the absence of a special operation, their officials had arrested Magomed Dudarov and, if so, on what ground. (c)     Interviewing of witnesses 35 .     On 30 December 2002 the first applicant was granted victim status in the proceedings in case no.   56189. While being interviewed on the same day, he stated that at about 9 a.m. on 18 November 2002, while he had been at work in Grozny, his relative I.D. had told him about the abduction of Magomed Dudarov by a group of armed men in masks and camouflage uniforms. On the same day the first applicant had gone to Ken-Yurt and had learnt from neighbours that the abductors had driven an ARV and a Ural truck and that there had been other vehicles, such as UAZ all-terrain vehicles. Being interviewed as a witness on 10 September 2009, the first applicant confirmed his earlier statement to the investigation. 36 .     On 17 January 2003 the second applicant was interviewed as a witness. She submitted that on the night of 18 November 2002 her son had woken her up, saying that there had been armed and masked men in camouflage uniforms in their courtyard. The intruders had then started knocking on the front door. Having smashed a window, around four armed men had burst into the house. They had spoken Russian with a strong accent. They had requested the second applicant to produce identity papers. They had then taken Magomed Dudarov, who had been barely dressed, outside. Having followed them outside, the second applicant had seen an ARV and a Ural truck parked in the street. The second applicant had started shouting and some neighbours had come outside. The intruders had then loaded Magomed Dudarov in the Ural truck, fired several shots in the air and driven off towards the centre of the village. The second applicant had not noticed the licence plates on the vehicles. After the abduction, local police officer S.M. had come to the applicants' house and had discovered near it a spent 5.45 mm submachine gun cartridge and a pillowcase. He had taken those items with him. When re-interviewed as a witness on 20   August 2004, the second applicant confirmed her account of the events given on 17   January 2003. Interviewed as a witness on 17 June 2005, the second applicant confirmed her previous statements and submitted, in addition, that she had inferred that the abductors of Magomed Dudarov were servicemen because they had been driving military vehicles. 37.     On 16 June 2005 the investigators interviewed the applicants' daughter A.D. as a witness. She submitted that at the time of Magomed Dudarov's abduction she had resided in the town of Shali and that on 18   November 2002 the first applicant had visited her there and had told her that her brother had been kidnapped by a group of armed men in camouflage uniforms, who had been driving an armoured personnel carrier (APC) and a Ural truck. 38.     The applicants' other daughter M.D., residing in Novosibirk, was interviewed as a witness on 16 June 2005 and stated that in 2003 she had visited the applicants in Ken-Yurt and had learnt from them that a group of armed men in camouflage uniforms and masks, who had driven an   ARV and a Ural truck, had kidnapped Magomed Dudarov. 39 .     On 16 June 2005 the investigators interviewed as a witness M.A., a resident of Ken-Yurt. She stated that at about 3 a.m. on 18 November 2002 the village had been blocked by a number of servicemen and military Ural trucks. After the abduction of Magomed Dudarov the servicemen had driven their military vehicles in the direction of the Nadterechny district of the Chechen Republic. 40 .     On 17 June 2005 the investigators interviewed as a witness U.S., head of the village administration. He stated that at about 3 a.m. on 18   November 2002 he had been woken up by the shouting of a woman who had cried for help. When he had got outside, he had met the second applicant, who had explained to him that armed men in camouflage uniforms and masks had taken away Magomed Dudarov and that the abductors had driven an ARV and a green Ural truck. U.S. had returned home, taken his car and tried to search for the applicants' son but in vain. Interviewed as a witness on 5 May 2006 and 27 July 2009, U.S. confirmed his earlier statements. During his interview of 27 July 2009 U.S. also stated that on the day following the abduction he had talked to the servicemen who manned the checkpoint located at the exit of the village but they had denied having arrested Magomed Dudarov. Those servicemen had formed part of the special purpose police unit from Irkutsk deployed in the village throughout 2002. 41 .     On 13 April 2006 the investigators interviewed as a witness the applicants' neighbour Z.Sh. She stated that on the night of 17-18   November 2002 she had heard cries for help coming from the applicants' house and had gone outside. There Z.Sh. had seen a large group of about twenty servicemen wearing camouflage uniforms and armed with submachine guns. The servicemen had had a number of military vehicles. Z.Sh. had seen the servicemen load Magomed Dudarov into one of their military vehicles and drive away in the direction of Grozny. While being interviewed as a witness on 6 October 2008, Z.Sh. confirmed that account of the events, specifying that she had seen an Ural truck and an APC at the time of Magomed Dudarov's abduction. 42 .     On 6 May 2006 the investigators interviewed police officer S.M. as a witness. He stated that he was working for the local police and that the applicants' house was within his area of responsibility. On 18   November 2002 he had learnt from residents of Ken-Yurt that at about 2   a.m. on that day a group of armed men in camouflage uniforms had abducted Magomed Dudarov from his parents' house. On the same day S.M. had come to the applicants' house, interviewed the second applicant about the circumstances of the abduction and inspected the house and the adjacent premises but had discovered nothing specific. S.M. also stated that the second applicant had not handed over a spent cartridge or pillowcase to him but that she could have given those items to the police officers of the special police unit from Irkutsk, whose squad had been stationed in Ken-Yurt at the material time. While being interviewed again as a witness on 4 August 2009, S.M. clarified that, having learnt of the abduction of Magomed Dudarov on 18   November 2002, he had immediately gone to the applicants' house. During the inspection of the premises, S.M. had discovered tyre tracks of an APC and a Ural truck near the applicants' house but had not taken any steps to establish in which direction they had led. Several days later S.M. had been approached by the second applicant, who had handed him a spent cartridge and a pillowcase. S.M. had handed those items over to ROVD officials and asked them to give them to the investigator in charge of criminal case no . 56189. S.M. had not taken any formal decision on the seizure of those items. Lastly, he submitted that he had handed over all materials and information about the abduction collected during his visit on 18 November 2002 to the ROVD. 43 .     On 13 June 2006 the investigators interviewed as a witness the applicants' neighbour I.M. He stated that on the night of 17-18 November 2002 he had been woken up by the noise of vehicles. Once outside, he had seen a large number of servicemen, who had blocked the entire street. There had been APCs, UAZ vehicles and a Ural truck. I.M. had also heard a woman shouting. He had learnt of Magomed Dudarov's abduction in the morning of 18   November 2002. 44 .     On 13 June 2006 the investigators interviewed as a witness the applicant's neighbour Sh.I. He stated that on 18 November 2002 he had been at his relatives in Shali and that he had learnt of the abduction of Magomed Dudarov from his relatives residing in Ken-Yurt after his return. They had told him that at the time of the abduction there had been numerous servicemen and military vehicles. 45 .     On 21 October 2008 the investigators interviewed as a witness the applicants' neighbour T.G. She submitted that on 18 November 2002 she had been woken up by the noise of several vehicles and by the second applicant's shouting. When T.G. had gone outside, she had seen an APC and a Ural truck and a number of servicemen. After the servicemen had left, T.G. had gone to the second applicant who had told her that they had abducted her son. 46.     On 13 August 2009 the investigators interviewed A.B. as a witness. He stated that he had been in charge of the investigation in case no.   56189 at its initial stage and that he had not been approached by any persons who would have handed over a spent cartridge or pillowcase to him. (d)     Other investigative steps 47.     Between 11 December 2002 and 13 January 2003 the investigators sent a number of requests to various law-enforcement authorities enquiring about whether they had information on Magomad Dudarov's possible arrest or detention, his criminal record, his whereabouts and whether any special operations had been conducted on the night of his abduction. Those authorities were also instructed to take operational search measures to establish his whereabouts. 48 .     On 13 January 2003 the investigators instructed the ROVD officers to seize from police officer S.M. spent cartridges found at the crime scene and to interview the applicants' neighbours about the vehicles which had been on their street the night of the abduction. There is no indication that the request was carried out. 49.     On 17 January 2003 the investigators inspected the crime scene. According to the crime scene inspection report of the same date, no objects of interest to the investigation were discovered. 50.     Between an unspecified date in August 2004 and 2   September 2004 the investigators requested the prosecutor's office of the Leninskiy District of Grozny to inform them if any criminal proceedings had been instituted against Magomed Dudarov in 2001, following his arrest and detention in May 2001. 51.     Between 11 and 18 June 2005 the investigators requested from various law-enforcement authorities information on whether they had conducted any operations in Ken-Yurt on 18 November 2002, arrested Magomed Dudarov or had information on his possible place of detention. According to those authorities' replies, they had no relevant information. 52.     Between 7 and 12 April 2006 similar requests for information were sent to a further number of authorities. It appears that no relevant information was obtained in reply. 53.     On 13 April 2006 the investigators carried out a repeated crime scene inspection. According to the crime scene inspection report of the same date, no objects of interest to the investigation were discovered. 54.     Between 8 and 21 October 2008 the investigators sent to several law-enforcement authorities further requests for information on Magomed Dudarov's whereabouts and places of his possible detention. 55 .     On 18 June 2009 the investigators asked the head of the Archives of the North Caucasus Military Circuit to provide information on any special operations conducted by military forces in Ken-Yurt on 18   November 2002. The letter stated that the investigation in case no.   56189 had sufficient grounds to believe that unidentified members of military forces had been involved in the abduction of Magomed Dudarov. In reply, the investigator was informed that there were no such documents in the archives and was advised to apply to the Operational Department of the Headquarters of the North Caucasus Military Circuit in Rostov on Don. There is no indication that the investigators applied to that State authority. It appears that similar requests lodged with further State authorities were also unsuccessful. 56.     On 9 September 2009 the investigators inspected criminal case file no.   11161. According to the documents submitted by the Government, on 23 May 2001 Magomed Dudarov had been arrested in Grozny on suspicion of having murdered, in concert with a third person, two FSB officers. On 30   May 2001 he had been released for lack of evidence of his involvement in the murder. (e)     Information relating to the decisions to suspend and resume the investigation 57 .     According to the Government, the investigation in case no.   56189 was suspended on the following dates: 10 February 2003, 16   September 2004, 8   July 2005, 7 May 2006, 30 October 2008 and 18 September 2009. All related decisions referred to its failure to identify the perpetrators. 58.     The investigation was reopened on 16 August 2004, 7   June 2005, 6   April 2006, 30 September 2008 and 18 June 2009. 59.     The relevant information submitted by the Government may be summarised as follows. 60 .     The decision of 16 August 2004 stated that the decision to suspend the investigation given on 10 February 2003 had been premature and unfounded because the investigators had failed to comply with the instructions given by the deputy prosecutor on 23 December 2002. Among other things, they had not examined the allegation that Magomed Dudarov could have been abducted by FSB officials with the participation of servicemen of the federal troops following a false accusation of suspicion of involvement in illegal armed groups. They had also failed to identify the neighbours who, according to the second applicant, had seen the military vehicles used by the abductors, and had not verified information concerning Magomed Dudarov's previous arrest in 2001. Whilst there was information that local police officer S.M. had seized a spent cartridge and pillowcase found at the applicants' house on 19   November 2002, that person had not been found and interviewed, the impugned items had neither been seized from him nor appended to the criminal file and the cartridge had not been sent for ballistic examination. 61 .     In a document entitled “Report on the progress in criminal case no.   56189” ( Заключение по уголовному делу № 56189 ) of 6 June 2005, the deputy prosecutor of the Groznenskiy district declared unlawful the decision of 16   September 2004 to suspend the investigation, finding that the investigators had failed to comply with the instructions issued on 23   December 2002. 62 .     On 7 April 2006, after the investigation in case no. 56189 had been resumed for the third time, the deputy prosecutor of the Groznenskiy District instructed the investigators to carry out the following investigative measures: to update the plan of investigative steps; to comply in full with the instructions issued by the deputy prosecutor on 23 December 2002 and 16 August 2004; to interview police officer S.M., who had seized the spent cartridge and pillowcase from the crime scene; to append those items to the criminal case file; to carry out a ballistic examination of the cartridge; to check whether the cartridge was recorded in the federal and regional ballistic databases, and to identify and interview friends and colleagues of the missing person. 63 .     On 28 September 2008 the deputy prosecutor of the Groznenskiy District Court issued a document entitled “Request to rectify the breaches of the federal legislation committed in the course of the preliminary investigation” ( Требование об устранении нарушений федерального законодательства, допущенных в ходе предварительного расследования ). The document stated that on 10 December 2002 the district prosecutor's office had instituted a criminal investigation into the abduction of Magomed Dudarov and that it had been suspended on numerous occasions. The latest decision to suspend the investigation had been taken on 7 May 2006 despite the fact that the investigators had failed to take the investigative steps enumerated in the plan of investigative measures issued on 10 April 2006. The deputy prosecutor instructed the investigators to rectify the shortcomings and to report to him on the measures taken by 5 October 2008. There is no information on whether the request was complied with. 64 .     On 18 September 2009 the deadline for the preliminary investigation in case no.   56189 was extended by two months. The decision stated, among other things, that the following investigative steps needed to be taken: request information from a number of State authorities or their archives about possible special operations in Ken-Yurt on 18   November 2002 and obtain judicial authorisation for seizure of the related documents classified as State secret; interview the first applicant and carry out a confrontation between the second applicant and S.M. on the issue of the items found at the applicants' house after the abduction; obtain further information on Magomed Dudarov's detention in 2001. II.     RELEVANT DOMESTIC LAW 65.     For a summary of the relevant domestic law see Akhmadova and Sadulayeva v. Russia (no. 40464/02, §§   67-69, 10   May 2007). THE LAW I.     THE GOVERNMENT'S OBJECTION REGARDING NON ‑ EXHAUSTION OF DOMESTIC REMEDIES A.     The parties' submissions 66.     The Government contended that the applicants' complaint concerning the disappearance of their relative should be declared inadmissible for non-exhaustion of domestic remedies. They submitted that the investigation into the disappearance of Magomed Dudarov had not yet been completed. They further argued that it was open to the applicants to request the district prosecutor's office to take certain investigative steps or to complain about the investigation to a court. Lastly, the Government stated that the applicants could have applied to civil courts for compensation under Articles 151 and 1069 of the Civil Code. 67.     The applicants contested that objection. They stated that the criminal investigation had proved to be ineffective and that the effectiveness of the investigation had been undermined in its early stages by the authorities' failure to take the relevant steps in due time. With reference to the Court's practice, they argued that they were not obliged to apply to civil courts in order to exhaust domestic remedies. B.     The Court's assessment 68.     The Court will examine the arguments of the parties in the light of the provisions of the Convention and its relevant practice (for a relevant summary, see Estamirov and Others v. Russia , no. 60272/00, §§ 73-74, 12   October 2006). 69.     The Court notes that the Russian legal system provides, in principle, two avenues of recourse for the victims of illegal and criminal acts attributable to the State or its agents, namely civil and criminal remedies. 70.     As regards a civil action to obtain redress for damage sustained through the alleged illegal acts or unlawful conduct of State agents, the Court has already found in a number of similar cases that this procedure alone cannot be regarded as an effective remedy in the context of claims brought under Article 2 of the Convention (see Khashiyev and Akayeva v.   Russia , nos.   57942/00 and 57945/00, §§   119-121, 24 February 2005, and Estamirov and Others , cited above, §   77). In the light of the above, the Court confirms that the applicants were not obliged to pursue civil remedies. The Government's objection in this regard is thus dismissed. 71.     As regards criminal-law remedies, the Court observes that the applicants complained to the law-enforcement authorities shortly after the kidnapping of Magomed Dudarov and that an investigation has been pending since 10 December 2002. The applicants and the Government dispute the effectiveness of the investigation of the kidnapping. 72 .     The Court considers that the Government's objection raises issues concerning the effectiveness of the investigation which are closely linked to the merits of the applicants' complaints. Thus, it decides to join this objection to the merits of the case and considers that the issue falls to be examined below. II.     ALLEGED VIOLATION OF ARTICLE 2 OF THE CONVENTION 73.     The applicants complained under Article 2 of the Convention that their relative had been deprived of his life by the servicemen and that the domestic authorities had failed to carry out an effective investigation of the matter. Article 2 reads: “1.     Everyone's right to life shall be protected by law. No one shall be deprived of his life intentionally save in the execution of a sentence of a court following his conviction of a crime for which this penalty is provided by law. 2.     Deprivation of life shall not be regarded as inflicted in contravention of this article when it results from the use of force which is no more than absolutely necessary: (a)     in defence of any person from unlawful violence; (b)     in order to effect a lawful arrest or to prevent the escape of a person lawfully detained; (c)     in action lawfully taken for the purpose of quelling a riot or insurrection.” A.     Submissions by the parties 74.     The Government argued that the domestic investigation had obtained no evidence that State agents had been involved in the abduction of Magomed Dudarov or that any special operations had been conducted in the village of Ken-Yurt on the night of his kidnapping. Magomed Dudarov's body had not been discovered. The fact that the abductors had worn camouflage uniforms and had spoken Russian did not prove that they were State agents. The domestic authorities were taking all reasonable steps to identify the persons responsible for the applicants' relative's abduction, as well as to establish Magomed Dudarov's whereabouts. 75.     The applicants claimed that there was evidence “beyond reasonable doubt” that their son had been detained by State agents and that he was to be presumed dead following his unacknowledged detention. They pointed out that the Government was not disputing their account of the events and that it was, moreover, confirmed by the witness interview records the Government had provided to the Court. They stressed that APCs and ARVs were armoured military vehicles used by the Russian armed forces and not available to civil persons. Moreover, the area from which the applicants' son had been abducted had been under the exclusive control of State authorities. It had been under curfew, the authorities maintained manned checkpoints there and an entire police unit had been stationed there. Lastly, the applicants invited the Court to draw inferences from the Government's refusal to provide a copy of the entire case file on the abduction of their son at the Court's request. 76.     As regards the investigation into Magomed Dudarov's abduction, the applicants submitted that it did not satisfy the Convention requirements. It has been pending for many years without any tangible results. It was neither prompt nor expeditious. The authorities took no steps to identify the entities involved in the special operation or the vehicles used for the abduction of Magomed Dudarov. No officials, such as the military commander, had been interviewed with a view to establishing how the abductors could have moved around during curfew. The applicants were not informed of the progress of the investigation. The first occasion on which they received any meaningful information in that respect was after the communication of their application to the Government. B.     The Court's assessment 1.     Admissibility 77.     The Court considers, in the light of the parties' submissions, that the complaint raises serious issues of fact and law under the Convention, the determination of which requires an examination of the merits. Further, the Court has already found that the Government's objection concerning the alleged non-exhaustion of domestic remedies should be joined to the merits of the complaint (see paragraph 72 above). The complaint under Article 2 of the Convention must therefore be declared admissible. 2.     Merits (a)     The alleged violation of the right to life of Magomed Dudarov (i)     General principles 78.     The Court reiterates that, in the light of the importance of the protection afforded by Article 2, it must subject deprivations of life to the most careful scrutiny, taking into consideration not only the actions of State agents but also all the surrounding circumstances. Detained persons are in a vulnerable position and the obligation on the authorities to account for the treatment of a detained individual is particularly stringent where that individual dies or disappears thereafter (see, among other authorities, Orhan v. Turkey , no. 25656/94, § 326, 18 June 2002, and the authorities cited therein). Where the events in issue lie wholly or in large part within the exclusive knowledge of the authorities, as in the case of persons under their control in detention, strong presumptions of fact will arise in respect of injuries and death occurring during that detention. Indeed, the burden of proof may be regarded as resting on the authorities to provide a satisfactory and convincing explanation (see Salman v. Turkey [GC], no. 21986/93, §   100, ECHR 2000-VII, and Çakıcı v. Turkey [GC], no. 23657/94, § 85, ECHR 1999-IV). (ii)     Establishment of the facts 79.     The Court observes that it has developed a number of general principles relating to the establishment of facts in dispute, in particular when faced with allegations of disappearance under Article 2 of the Convention (for a summary of these, see Bazorkina v. Russia , no. 69481/01, §§   103 ‑ 109, 27 July 2006). The Court also notes that the conduct of the parties when evidence is being obtained has to be taken into account (see Ireland v. the United Kingdom , 18 January 1978, § 161, Series A no. 25). 80.     The applicants alleged that at about 2 a.m. on 18 November 2002 their son, Magomed Dudarov, had been abducted by servicemen and had then disappeared. They invited the Court to draw inferences as to the well ‑ foundedness of their allegations from the Government's failure to provide the documents requested from them. They submitted that several persons, as well as the second applicant, had witnessed Magomed Dudarov's abduction and enclosed their written statements to support that submission. 81.     The Government conceded that Magomed Dudarov had been abducted on 18 November 2002 by unidentified armed camouflaged men. However, they denied that the abductors had been servicemen, referring to the absence of conclusions from the ongoing investigation. 82.     The Court notes that despite its requests for a copy of the investigation file into the abduction of Magomed Dudarov, the Government refused to produce a copy of the entire case file, referring to Article 161 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The Court observes that in previous cases it has already found this explanation insufficient to justify the withholding of key information requested by the Court (see Imakayeva v. Russia , no.   7615/02, § 123, ECHR 2006-XIII (extracts)). 83.     Having regard to the applicants' submissions and the materials at its disposal, the Court considers that they presented an overall coherent and convincing picture of Magomed Dudarov's abduction on 18   November 2002 by a group of armed and camouflaged men driving in a convoy of military vehicles, including an ARV and a Ural truck. It notes that the applicants' account remained consistent both throughout the domestic investigation and before this Court (see paragraphs 8-16, 35 and 36 above). It further observes that the witness statements referred to by the Government appear to confirm the applicants' account of the events concerning their son's abduction on all points, including the presence of military vehicles, such as APCs, which the witnesses either submitted to have seen at the applicants'