Maxim Shevchenko: refusal to give out bodies of people killed in Northern Caucasus to relatives is absurd

The decision not to give out to relatives the bodies of the people, many of whom have never been convicted by any court, but simply called to be militants, is an absurdity that should be overcome, a journalist Maxim Shevchenko believes. Orhan Cemal, the special correspondent of the newspaper "Izvestia" believes that with introduction of the ban to give out bodies of suspected militants, trading in corpses began in Northern Caucasus.

On June 6, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), having considered the case "Maskhadovs et al versus Russia", ruled that the Russian Federation was guilty of violating the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) with regard to Article 8 for the refusal to give out Aslan Maskhadov's body to his close relatives for burial.

Russian experts and public figures speak for abolition of such a law, which is, as they argue, inhuman and cruel, and defamatory for the country in the international arena.

Maxim Shevchenko believes that the lifting of the ban will have a positive impact on social and political situation in Northern Caucasus and in Russia as a whole.

In the opinion of Oksana Preobrazhenskaya, the director of the "Centre to Promote International Defence", representing the interests of Russian applicants at the ECtHR, the decision on Maskhadov is unlikely to be challenged by Russia.

"This decision shall enter into force in three months, unless the government of the Russian Federation applies for a review of the case by the Grand Chamber of ECtHR," she told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.