Complaint on fact of Chechen woman's death in bombardment sent to European Court

On March 10, experts of the Inter-Regional Committee against Torture sent a complaint to the European Court on Human Rights in Strasbourg on violation of the right to life of Raisa Kosumova, a native of Chechnya, who perished in 2003 as a result of a mortar attack. The complaint was filed on behalf of the casualty's mother.

In the opinion of the applicants, as to Raisa Kosumova the Russian authorities have breached Articles 2 and 13 of the European Conventions on Defence of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.

The Inter-Regional Committee against Torture reports that on June 7, 2003, a militia car was blown up in Chechnya, in the highway section Dyshne-Vedeno - Kharachoy. Several law enforcers were wounded, and two - died in situ.

After the explosion, the militiamen called reinforcement; and from Dyshne-Vedeno village a support group rendered a mortar blow on the place, where supposed blasters had disappeared. However, the blow was unsighted, and the mines struck practically the site, where the car had been undermined, having wounded two FSB agents. At that very time, Raisa Kosumova was returning in his car to Kharachoy from Vedeno; she got under the shelling and was killed.

On the fact of Ms Kosumova's death the regional prosecutor's office almost immediately initiated a criminal case. However, the investigation was repeatedly stopped and renewed. No guilty persons were ever found. For almost six years already, Ruman, Raisa's mother, has been unsuccessfully trying to get acquainted with the materials of the prosecutor's investigation.

Within the inquiry, it remained unascertained whose duty had been to cordon off the place of explosion by the militia, why Kosumova's car had been let to the shelling zone, who had given the order to open shelling without exact calculation of the place of mortar blow, and that had been done to assess and prevent possible damage to civilians.