ECtHR awards 65,000 euros to relatives of Ibragim Kushtov, kidnapped in Ingushetia

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has found a violation of the rights of relatives of Ibragim Kushtov, who disappeared in Ingushetia in 2006. Relatives hope to find out his fate and bury him, if he is dead.

The applicants in the case were Kushtov’s mother, his two brothers and four sisters.

"5000 euros of compensation for moral harm were appointed to Marjan Kushtova; 60,000 euros to compensate the moral harm caused to other applicants, and 3000 euros for judicial expenses," says the website of the ECtHR.

On January 25, 2006, the family house in the village of Troitskaya was approached by a car; those who came in the car told that Ibragim had been taken away by militaries, Musa Kushtov, Ibragim’s brother, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent. He added that he saw bloodstains in the place where Ibragim fell down.

According to his story, relatives had tried to find out the whereabouts of Ibragim, but failed.

A possible reason for kidnapping his brother might be the power agents’ desire to get information about Isa Kushtov, who was a member of a militants’ detachment, said Musa Kushtov.

The ECtHR repeats its earlier findings about the general inefficiency of criminal investigations into violent kidnappings, said Olga Gnezdilova, the legal director of the "Legal Initiative".

Let us note here that earlier rights defenders had criticized Russia for slow enforcement or neglecting ECtHR’s judgments.

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