ECtHR condemns Russia for failure to investigate kidnapping of Dagestani resident

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has pronounced a resolution concerning the complaint filed by relatives of Abdurakhman Abdurakhmanov, a resident of Makhachkala, kidnapped on June 25, 2010, whose fate is still unknown. The complainants are granted compensation for moral damages in the amount of 60,000 euros.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Abdurakhman Abdurakhmanov was taken away to some unknown destination by people in civilian clothes. This was reported by his mother Azha Abdurakhmanova, a resident of Makhachkala, a member of the USSR Union of Journalists.

The ECtHR has concluded that the Russian authorities are responsible for the kidnapping and probable death of Abdurakhman Abdurakhmanov, as well as for the failure to investigate the crime.

The complainants' interests were represented by Anastasiya Razhikova, a lawyer of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial", and lawyers of the European Human Rights Advocacy Centre (EHRAC, London), the HRC "Memorial" reports.

According to the materials of the case, several persons witnessed how Abdurakhman Abdurakhmanov was attacked by armed men in civilian clothes, some of whom were in masks. However, the criminal case under article about kidnapping of a person by a group of persons with the use of weapons was initiated only more than a month later.

The father of Abdurakhman Abdurakhmanov, a federal judge, used all his connections to find his son. From unofficial sources, the relatives found out that Abdurakhman was detained by policemen; however, the relatives of the kidnapped man did not succeed in revealing his whereabouts.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.