ECtHR awards compensation to relatives of NCFD residents killed by law enforcers

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has awarded over 180,000 euros of compensation to relatives of the residents of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic (KBR) and Ingushetia, who were killed by law enforcers in 2007 and 2009. The victims' interests were represented by lawyers of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial".

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that in December 2007, Muzafar Gaev, the father of Zeitun Gaev, a resident of the KBR's village of Gerpegezh, applied to various power bodies stating that his son could not commit suicide. The father claimed that his son was tortured, but law enforcers denied this.

The ECtHR found the authorities responsible for the death of Zeitun Gaev, a KBR resident, born in 1977, and for the failure to conduct an efficient inquiry into his death. The applicant was awarded 80,000 euros as compensation for moral harm, the website of the HRC "Memorial" has reported today.

Another Caucasian complaint supported by the HRC "Memorial" concerned a law enforcers' special operation conducted in the Sunzha District of Ingushetia on November 25, 2009, during which two alleged militants were killed. They were identified as Mustafa Tochiev and Khamzat Uzhakhov.

Uzhakhov's brother and widow claimed that he had no relation to any illegal armed formation (IAF) and filed a complaint with the Prosecutor's Office of Ingushetia, but the criminal case was never opened.

In total, the applicants have been awarded 101,000 euros of compensation for moral harm.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on June 23, 2020 at 11:51 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.