The ECHR ordered Russia to pay 63,000 euros in the case concerning forced disappearance in Chechnya

Today the ECHR delivered its judgment in case of Beksultanova v. Russia and ordered Russia to pay 63,000 euros for numerous violations of the Convention.

The case concerned the alleged forced disappearance of the applicant’s son by Russian state agents. The applicant claimed that her son had been arrested on suspicion of involvement in terrorist activities in October 2004 and had since disappeared. She also alleged that her son had been abducted and killed by Russian state agents during an unacknowledged security operation in Chechnya and that the domestic authorities had failed to conduct an effective investigation into the disappearance of her son.

In its judgment the Court held unanimously that there had been:  

1. Violation of Article 2 (right to life) of the Convention in respect of the disappearance of Timur Beksultanov, the son of the applicant;

2. Violation of Article 2 of the Convention in respect of the inadequate investigation into his disappearance;

3. Violation of Article 3 (prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment) in respect of the mental suffering of the applicant, Timur’s mother;

4. Violation of Article 5 (right to liberty and security) of the Convention in respect of the unacknowledged detention of the applicant’s son without any of the safeguards contained in Article 5 of the Convention; and,

5. Violation of Article 13 (right to an effective remedy) in conjunction with Article 2 of the Convention.

[The full text of the ECHR judgment can be found here. The more detailed analysis of the judgment will follow shortly.]

This is not the first ECHR judgment involving Chechnya. On 19 July 2011 the ECHR ordered Russia to pay 45,000 euro to Ms. Kameta Khashuyeva for the death of her son during special operations of the Russian police, military and security forces in Chechnya.

On 21 June 2011 the Court found that Russia was responsible for the death of Mr. Zelimkhan Isayev after he was tortured by the state agents.

In the beginning of June 2011 the ECHR delivered judgments in four other cases concerning Chechnya and ordered Russia to pay more than 270,000 euros in total to the applicants. [See cases of Makharbiyeva, Movsayevy, Kosumova, and Vitayeva].

Please note that the above list of the ECHR judgments concerning Chechnya is not exhaustive.