Rights defenders criticize ECtHR's decision on Radik Bapinaev's case

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has failed to award compensation to relatives of Radik Bapinaev, a resident of Kabardino-Balkaria, who was shot dead by law enforcers, which reduces the significance of its decision, human rights defenders assert.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Radik Bapinaev, shot dead in 2007 in central Nalchik during a clash with a police patrol, had been suspected of taking part in the 2005 attack and murder of GIBDD (traffic police) inspectors. In 2008, the Supreme Court (SC) of Kabardino-Balkaria refused to hand out his body to his mother for burial. On June 15, 2021, it became known that the ECtHR found the refusal to give out his body to his mother to be unlawful, but failed to award any compensation to the mother for suffered moral harm.

Valery Khatazhukov, the head of the Kabardino-Balkarian Human Rights Centre, has noted that he did not quite understand the situation when the violation was recognized, but no compensation was awarded. "Then, after all, the state will just ignore people's complaints. Well, they've recognized (a violation) – it's OK. But if there is no compensation, the impact of this decision on the authorities will be incomplete," the human rights defender has stated.

Magomed Abubakarov, an advocate from Kabardino-Balkaria, said that he positively assessed the recognition by the ECtHR of a violation of the law. "But I don't think that this decision will somehow calm down or satisfy the parents and close relatives. I think that in order to force authorities to address such issues more seriously and responsibly, good compensation should have been awarded," he said.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on June 23, 2021 at 04:53 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.