12 July 2007, 16:21
European Court again finds Russia guilty of disappearance and death of Chechnya resident
Today, the European Court for Human Rights has once again found the state of Russia guilty of disappearance and death of a Chechnya resident. According to the Court's decision, in 2000 Ayubkhan Magomadov fell victim of violent disappearance, and his right to live was breached, Kirill Koroteev, lawyer of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial" who represented applicants' interests in Strasbourg, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.
Besides, the Strasbourg Court has ruled that the authorities of the country had encroached on the right for freedom and personal immunity of Ayubkhan Magomadov and had proved inefficient in investigating his disappearance. For a long time, the brothers of the victim had failed to get any information about him, which was recognized by the Court to be a violation of the ban on inhuman treatment in relation to Yakub and Ayub Magomadov.
At the same time, the Court has not found that Yakub Magomadov's detention in 2004 had anything to do with his filing a complaint to the European Court, and that Russian authorities were guilty of his disappearance.
We remind you that on October 2, 2000, an armed FSB (Federal Security Bureau) group made a search in Magomadovs' house. Ayubkhan Magomadov was arrested and taken away by people in military uniform, who refused to present any documents. Nobody has ever seen him since, the HRC "Memorial" reports.
Ayubkhan's relatives started to look for him right after the arrest. Having exhausted all the opportunities at the national level, Ayubkhan's brother Yakub Magomadov filed a complaint to the European Court for Human Rights.
Early in 2004, Yakub Magomadov went to Moscow aiming to go on with his search there, and disappeared himself.
Author: Vyacheslav Feraposhkin, CK correspondent
