40 residents of Chechnya win lawsuit against Russia at the ECtHR on disappearances of their relatives

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has satisfied the claim of 40 residents of Chechnya by finding Russia's violation of the rights of the disappearance of their relatives, says the court decision. The ECtHR has ordered Russia to pay 1.06 million euros to the applicants.

According to the applicants, who filed the complaint with the ECtHR in September, during the period from 2000 to 2005, their relatives were kidnapped by armed men in uniform. Later, no efficient inquiry into the disappearances was ever conducted; besides, the applicants put forward a claim for compensation for moral harm and complained about unauthorized detention by the authorities.

The ECtHR has considered the complaint and found a violation of Articles 2 (right to life), 3 (prohibition of inhuman and degrading treatment), 5 (right to liberty and security) and 13 (right to an effective remedy) and found the actions of the authorities of the Russian Federation illegitimate, the "Interfax" reports referring to the court records.

The ECtHR has obliged Russia to pay 780,000 euros to the applicants as compensation for moral harm, 243,000 euros in respect of pecuniary damage and 37,000 euros of legal costs, making a total of 1.06 million euros.