Russia loses three more ECtHR cases on Chechen residents' claims

Russia has lost three more cases at the European Court on Human Rights (ECtHR) in Strasbourg on the claims lodged by residents of the Chechen Republic and will have to pay 130,000 euros for disappearances in 2000.

The communication of the Court runs that Mairudin Khantyev disappeared in December 2000 in Grozny, when he was kidnapped from his apartment by armed people in camouflage. Yusup Sabataev and Kazbek Vakhaev were detained in Urus-Martan in February and August 2000. Sabataev was arrested under a criminal case: he was accused of participation in an illegal bandit formation and trade in firearms. Vakhaev was detained during a safety-ensuring operation. The authorities told the relatives that Sabataev and Vakhaev were released from custody on August 13, 2000; however, since then nobody saw them. Now the victims assert that their relatives were not released but perished from hands of Russian power agents.

Based on witnesses' evidences and on other information, the Strasbourg Court has ruled that in the first case only representatives of Russian authorities could be the kidnappers. In the second case, according to the Court, the Russian Federation failed to present any documents in confirmation of release of the above persons.

The rulings of the Court will come into force, unless any of the parties files its request, within three months, asking to hand the case over to the Big Chamber of the ECtHR which, in its turn, can reject the request.

The "Newsru.com" reports that earlier the applicants had addressed Russian judicial instances, but, according to their version, Russia had failed to hold a detailed investigation of the circumstances of disappearance of their relatives.