Communicated on 21 February 2018
FIRST SECTION
Application no. 59432/14
Maya Anatoliyivna CHABANYUK against Ukraine and Russia
and 3 other applications
(see list appended)
STATEMENT OF FACTS
The facts of the cases, as submitted by the applicants, are set forth in the appended table.
COMPLAINTS
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 are ill-treated and held in poor conditions.
As regards applications nos. 62529/14 and 66215/14 the applicants complain that the continuing unlawful captivity of their relatives is tantamount to torture within the meaning of Article 3 of the Convention.
The applicants furthermore 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 application no. 62529/14 the applicant complains under Article 2 that his son from which he has not received any news for a long time might be dead.
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. 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. 62529/14 and 66215/14, can the captivity of the applicants’ relatives be regarded as torture?
4. Are the applicants’ relatives deprived of their liberty in breach of Article 5 § 1 of the Convention?
5. 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?
6. As regards application no. 62529/14, is there any evidence available to the effect that the applicant’s son is alive?
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
59432/14
Chabanyuk v. Ukraine and Russia
29/08/2014
Maya Anatoliyivna CHABANYUK
01/05/1984
Grytsiv
Roman Anatoliyovych VEREMIYCHUK
04/11/1987
Oleg Igorovych VEREMIYENKO
On 11 August 2014 the applicant’s brother, Mr Roman Anatoliyovych Veremiychuk, born on 4 November 1987, disappeared while serving in the Ukrainian Army in the area of the anti-terrorist operation in the Eastern Ukraine. The applicant recognized her brother among captive Ukrainian soldiers interrogated by the separatist militants of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) in the city of Antratsyt ().
The applicant further states that the volunteers in the area of the anti-terrorist operation provided her with the mobile phone number of the separatist militants. The applicant called the number on an unspecified date and was informed that Mr Veremiychuk was still alive and was held in captivity.
Representatives of the Centre for the Liberation of War Prisoners (a specialized governmental agency) notified the applicant that her brother was assigned No. 60 dated 23 August 2014 in the list of captured soldiers.
Instituted on 24 August 2014 by the Novograd-Volynskyy Police Department in Zhytomyr region.
On 27 August 2014 the applicant lodged complaints with the Security Service of Ukraine in Khmelnytskyy region.
59890/14
Kavun v. Ukraine and Russia
01/09/2014
Olena Oleksandrivna KAVUN
08/02/1979
Kyiv
Vitaliy Leonidovych
KOROVYAKIVSKYY
07/07/1975
Oleg Igorovych VEREMIYENKO
On 24 August 2014 the applicant’s partner, Mr Vitaliy Leonidovych Korovyakivskyy, born on 7 July 1975, disappeared while serving in the Ukrainian Army in the area of the anti-terrorist operation in the Eastern Ukraine. On 27 August Ms Oleksandra Burlakova, spouse of another captive soldier Private Dmytro Ryzhov, informed the applicant that both their husbands were held captives by the separatist militants of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR). On 28 August 2014 the applicant was notified by an unknown person via the social network VKontakte that her partner had been transferred to Donetsk. According to the information received from wives of other captives, the applicant’s partner is held in the former building of the Security Service of Ukraine in Donetsk.
Instituted on 8 September 2014 by the Kyiv-Sviyatoshyn District Department of the Ministry of Interior of Ukraine in Kyiv region.
On 28 August 2014 the applicant lodged complaints with the Security Service of Ukraine and on 29 August 2014 with the military prosecutor’s office.
62529/14
Abramovych v. Ukraine and Russia
16/09/2014
Volodymyr Vasylyovych ABRAMOVYCH
29/07/1966
Zhytomyr
Artem Volodymyrovych ABRAMOVYCH
21/04/1990
Alina Viktorivna PAVLYUK
On 12 August 2014 the applicant’s son, Mr Artem Volodymyrovych Abramovych, born on 21 April 1990, disappeared while serving in the Ukrainian Army in the area of the anti-terrorist operation in the Eastern Ukraine. The applicant relies on the information provided by the Centre of Released Captives of General Ruban () about the abduction on his son by the representatives of “Donetsk People’s Republic” and the son’s captivity in Donetsk.
According to the information from web-sites:
the applicant’s son being wounded was transported to Russia.
Instituted on 16 August 2014 by the Zhytomyr City Department of the Ministry of Interior of Ukraine in Zhytomyr region.
On 21 August 2014 the applicant lodged complaint with the Security Service of Ukraine. By a letter of the same date the latter notified the applicant that his complaint had been transferred to the prosecutor’s office of Zhytomyr region. By letter of 1 September 2014 the prosecutor’s office informed the applicant that his complaint was transferred to the Chief Directorate of the Military Service of Order.
66215/14
Povarchuk v. Ukraine and Russia
07/10/2014
Maryna Volodymyrivna POVARCHUK
14/02/1989
Vyshgorod
Valeriy Petrovych NAZARENKO
26/09/1965
Oleg Igorovych VEREMIYENKO
On 30 August 2014 the applicant’s father, Mr Valeriy Nazarenko, born on 26 September 1965, serving in the Ukrainian voluntary battalion “Donbas” in the area of the anti-terrorist operation in the Eastern Ukraine, called the applicant and told her that he had been taken captive near Ilovaysk, Donetsk region, the day before.
On an unspecified date the brother of Mr Valeriy Nazarenko’s friend fighting in the same battalion informed the applicant that Mr Valeriy Nazarenko was alive. It was the last time Mr Nazarenko’s family heard of him.
On 1 September 2014 several web sites featured photos and videos of captured Ukrainians. The applicant recognized her father on one of the photos ().
On 1 October 2014 the applicant lodged complaint with the Security Service of Ukraine.
Full & Egal Universal Law Academy