Communicated on 13 September 2018
FIRST SECTION
Application no. 882/15
Kseniya Petrivna AMELCHAKOVA and Yuriy Yuriyovych AMELCHAKOV against Ukraine and Russia
and 5 others – see appended list
STATEMENT OF FACTS
The facts of the cases, as submitted by the applicants, are set forth in the appended table.
COMPLAINTS
In all the applications, except for application no. 5389/15, the applicants complain under Article 3 of the Convention, relying on information received from soldiers released from captivity, that there is a high probability that their relatives captured in 2014 are ill-treated and held in poor conditions.
As regards applications nos. 3364/15 and 3745/15 the applicants complain that the continuing unlawful captivity of their relatives is tantamount to torture within the meaning of Article 3 of the Convention.
In all the applications, except for application no. 882/15, the applicants complain under Article 3 of the Convention that long-lasting uncertainty about their relatives’ fate causes them serious mental suffering.
In application no. 5389/15 the applicant also complains under Article 3 of the Convention that the domestic authorities failed to take measures necessary for carrying out an effective investigation into the alleged ill‑treatment.
In all the applications, except for applications nos. 5389/15 and 5775/15, the applicants complain under Article 5 § 1 of the Convention that their relatives’ continuous deprivation of liberty is unlawful.
In all the applications the applicants complain that the respondent Governments failed to take measures necessary to secure their Convention rights as required by Article 13 of the Convention. They therefore did not have effective remedies in that respect.
As regards applications nos. 5389/15, 5616/15 and 5775/15 the applicants complain under Article 2 that their relatives might no longer be alive as they disappeared under life-threatening circumstances and the attempts to establish contact with them failed.
In application no. 5389/15 the applicant complains under Article 2 of the Convention that the domestic authorities failed to take measures necessary for carrying out an effective investigation into his brother’s disappearance.
In application no. 5389/15 the applicant also complains under Article 2 of the Convention that his brother disappeared under life-threatening circumstances as a result of improper planning of the military operations by the Ukrainian authorities.
QUESTIONS TO THE PARTIES
1. Do the alleged violations of the Convention fall within the “jurisdiction” of the respondent States within the meaning of Article 1 of the Convention?
2. As regards all the applications, except application no. 5389/15, have the applicants’ relatives been subjected to torture or inhuman or degrading treatment, in breach of Article 3 of the Convention?
3. As regards applications nos. 3364/15 and 3745/15, can the captivity of the applicants’ relatives be regarded as torture within the meaning of Article 3 of the Convention?
4. As regards all the applications, except for application no. 882/15, can long-lasting uncertainty about their relatives’ fate cause mental sufferings to the applicants sufficient to reach the threshold of inhuman treatment prohibited by Article 3 of the Convention?
5. As regards application no. 5389/15, have investigations been carried out in respect of the applicant’s allegations of a violation of Article 3 of the Convention, as required by that provision?
6. As regards all the applications, except application nos. 5389/15 and 5775/15, are the applicants’ relatives deprived of their liberty in breach of Article 5 § 1 of the Convention?
7. As regards all the applications, did the applicants have effective remedies at their disposal in respect of their Convention complaints, as required by Article 13 of the Convention?
8. As regards applications nos. 5389/15, 5616/15 and 5775/15, is there any evidence available to the effect that the applicants’ relatives are still alive?
9. As regards application no. 5389/15, have investigations been carried out in respect of the applicant’s allegations of a violation of Article 2 of the Convention, as required by that provision?
10. As regards application no. 5389/15, did the applicant’s brother disappear under life-threatening circumstances in breach of Article 2 of the Convention as a result of improper planning of the military operations by the Ukrainian authorities?
APPENDIX
No.
Application
no.
Case title
Lodged on
Applicant name/
date of birth/
place of
residence
Name/ date of birth of disappeared person
Represented by
Notes
Investigation into the applicants’ complaints by Ukrainian/ Russian authorities
882/15
Amelchakova v. Ukraine and Russia
08/01/2015
Kseniya Petrivna Amelchakova
13/07/1974
Zhytomyr
Yuriy Yuriyovych Amelchakov
01/01/1975
Zhytomyr
Oleg Igorovych Veremiyenko
On unspecified date between 28 and 30 July 2014 the applicant’s husband, Mr Yuriy Yuriyovych Amelchakov, born in 1975, who served in the Ukrainian Army in the area of the anti-terrorist operation in the Eastern Ukraine, disappeared during a combat mission near Marynivka, Donetsk region. On 30 July 2014 Mr Amelchakov called a senior officer in his unit and informed that he was alive. Since then Mr Amelchakov has been missing. The applicant alleges that due to the circumstances of his disappearance there is a real risk that Mr Amelchakov was taken captive.
The applicant also provided a copy of a list of missing persons issued by the specialized governmental agency Centre for the Liberation of War Prisoners, according to which Mr Amelchakov was considered missing as of 22 September 2014.
Instituted on 11 September 2014 by the Zhytomyr City Department Directorate of the Ministry of the Interior of Ukraine in Zhytomyr region.
On 12 November 2014 the applicant lodged a complaint with the Security Service of Ukraine.
3364/15
Klimova v. Ukraine and Russia
16/01/2015
Bozhena Oleksandrivna Klimova
26/09/1984
Donetsk
Oleksandr Mykolayovych Mosolov
03/11/1961
Donetsk
Alina Viktorivna Pavlyuk
On 17 June 2014 the applicant’s father, Mr Oleksandr Mykolayovych Mosolov, born on 3 November 1961, was abducted from his office in Donetsk by a group of armed men, allegedly the separatist militants of the so-called “Donetsk People’s Republic” (DPR). The abduction was filmed on surveillance camera and posted on Youtube ().
Since then there has been no information about the applicant’s father’s fate.
Instituted on 18 June 2014 by the Kyiv District Department of the Donetsk City Directorate of the Ministry of the Interior of Ukraine, on 11 September 2014 by the Security Service of Ukraine and on 28 October 2014 by the Chief Directorate of the Ministry of the Interior of Ukraine in Dnipropetrovsk region.
3745/15
Morozova v. Ukraine and Russia
19/01/2015
Iryna Anatoliyivna Morozova
04/01/1968
Makiyivka
Oleg Oleksandrovych Morozov
13/11/1966
Donetsk
Alina Viktorivna Pavlyuk
On 20 September 2014 the applicant’s husband, Oleg Oleksandrovych Morozov, born on 13 November 1966, was arrested at a checkpoint “Abakumovo” near Staromykhaylivka village of Donetsk Region by the separatist militants of DPR. On 22 September 2014 the applicant herself came to the checkpoint and learnt about her husband’s arrest; however, she did not receive any information about her husband’s whereabouts. Since then there has been no information about his fate.
Instituted on 2 October 2014 by the Amur-Nyzhnyodniprovskyy District Department of the Ministry of the Interior of Ukraine in Dnipropetrovsk region.
5389/15
Tenditnyk v. Ukraine and Russia
27/01/2015
Oleksandr Volodymyrovych Tenditnyk
16/06/1982
Krasnoarmiysk
Yaroslav Volodymyrovych Tenditnyk
14/12/1980
Krasnoarmiysk
Oleg Igorovych Veremiyenko
From July 2014 onwards the applicant’s brother, Mr Yaroslav Tenditnyk, born on 16 June 1982, served in the Ukrainian voluntary battalion “Donbas” in the area of the anti-terrorist operation in the Eastern Ukraine. On 28 August 2014 the said battalion was caught in an ambush near Ilovaysk, Donetsk region. On 29 August 2014 the applicant spoke with his brother on the phone and the latter informed him that the battalion was trying to retreat, but was under heavy fire. That was the last time the applicant spoke to his brother.
A serviceman from the same unit, Mr Leonid Rybytskyy, informed the applicant that he had seen Mr Yaroslav Tenditnyk wounded on the helicopter bringing the survivors to a hospital on 1 September 2014.
Mr Yaroslav Tenditnyk’s family was also contacted by a certain Viktoriya, nurse at a camp hospital, who confirmed that Mr Yaroslav Tenditnyk was at the hospital. However, she later stated that she had made a mistake.
Yaroslav Tenditnyk’s presence at a camp hospital was also confirmed by a certain Sergiy Tereshchenko.
There has been no information about the fate and whereabouts of Mr Yaroslav Tenditnyk since September 2014.
Instituted on 27 October 2014 by the Ilovayskyy District Department of the Ministry of the Interior of Ukraine in Donetsk region.
5616/15
Bilenka v. Ukraine and Russia
28/01/2015
Lyudmyla Stepanivna Bilenka
26/07/1960
Kyiv
Roman Vasylyovych Bilenkyy
01/08/1987
Kyiv
Oleg Igorovych Veremiyenko
In August 2014 the applicant’s son, Mr Roman Vasylyovych Bilenkyy, born on 1 August 1987, served in the Ukrainian voluntary battalion “Azov” in Donetsk region in the area of the anti-terrorist operation in the Eastern Ukraine.
On 27 August 2014 the applicant spoke with her son on the phone for the last time.
On 2 September 2014 the applicant called the battalion’s Chief of Staff who informed her that Mr Roman Bilenkyy had been taken captive by the separatist militants of the DPR together with other two soldiers (Mr Mykola Mykolayovych Samofalov and Mr Maksym Oleksandrovych Hudan near Roza Luksemburg village, Novo-Azovsk District, Donetsk Region).
On unspecified date the applicant recognized Mr Maksym Oleksandrovych Hudan on YouTube video (). In November 2014 Mr Roman Bilenkyy’s friend fighting in the same battalion (nom de guerre: “Dik”) informed the applicant that the captive soldiers from the applicant’s son’s battalion had been brought to Russia.
On 25 November 2014 a Russian human rights activist Ms Olena Borysivna Vasylyeva informed the applicant that Mr Roman Bilenkyy was in a Moscow military prison (the applicant’s son is in Ms Vasylyeva’s list of the Ukrainian soldiers transported to the territory of the Russian Federation: ).
Instituted on 26 September 2014 by the Obolon District Department of the Ministry of the Interior of Ukraine in Kyiv.
5775/15
Pugachova v. Ukraine and Russia
29/01/2015
Galyna Georgiyivna Pugachova
22/07/1973
Kharkiv
Pavlo Anatoliyovych Pugachov
20/07/1992
Kharkiv
Vitaliya Pavlivna
Lebid
On 31 August 2014 the applicant’s son, Mr Pavlo Anatolyovych Pugachov, born on 20 July 1992, disappeared in combat near Ilovaysk while serving in the Ukrainian voluntary battalion “Donbas” in the area of the anti-terrorist operation in the Eastern Ukraine.
On 1 September 2014 he was then seen near the village of Stroitel, Donetsk region, in an abandoned house.
During October-November 2014 the applicant received several calls from strangers who informed her that Mr Pugachov was held in captivity. The applicant has not had any information about her son since 25 November 2014.
Instituted on 8 October 2014 by the Chief Directorate of the Ministry of the Interior of Ukraine in Kharkiv region.
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