Published on 9 October 2023
FOURTH SECTION
Application no. 49522/14
Khayser Mustafa Oglu DZHEMILOV against Russia
and 2 other applications
(see list appended)
communicated on 2 September 2023
SUBJECT MATTER OF THE CASE
The applications originate from the conflict between Ukraine and the Russian Federation when the latter asserted its jurisdiction over Crimea in 2014. The applicants are Crimean Tatars and their complaints concern, among other things, their alleged persecution for their pro-Ukrainian position.
In particular, applications nos. 44048/21 and 47349/21 concern criminal proceedings instituted by the Russian authorities against two of the applicants, namely Nariman Enverovych Dzhelyalov and Asan Islamovych Akhtemov. These two applicants were charged with the offence of sabotage in connection with an attempted attack on a gas pipeline near Perevalne, Crimea. According to the applicants, between 3 and 4 September 2021 these two applicants were abducted by officials of the Russian Federal Security Service after searches had been carried out in their homes, and they were subjected to torture in order to obtain confessions. The whereabouts of these applicants remained unknown for almost a day. Neither the two applicants’ lawyers nor the remaining applicants who are their close relatives had access to them during that time.
As regards application no. 49522/14, the applicant is the son of a prominent Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar politician who is the former leader of the Mejlis of the Crimea Tatar People and a member of the Ukrainian Parliament since 1998. The applicant had been detained by Ukrainian authorities before Russia asserted its jurisdiction over Crimea. He complains that despite the decision of the Dniprovskyy District Court of Kyiv dated 18 June 2014 ordering his urgent release, the Russian authorities refused to do so, allegedly in order to put pressure on the applicant’s father.
The applicants in all applications allege numerous violations of Article 5 of the Convention based on, inter alia, the alleged lack of legal grounds and of relevant and sufficient reasons for their detention. Moreover, referring to Article 14 of the Convention in conjunction with Articles 3 and 5 of the Convention the applicants in applications nos. 44048/21 and 47349/21 allege that the Russian authorities did not respect their Convention rights because of their origin and that the Russian policy towards Crimean Tatars has a systematic character in Crimea.
Moreover, the applicant in application no. 49522/14 also alleges violations of Article 6 of the Convention. In particular, he states that the Russian authorities refused to refer his criminal case to the competent Ukrainian authorities despite the change in jurisdiction of the Crimean courts after the “annexation”, therefore he was denied access to court in breach of Article 6 of the Convention.
The applicants in applications nos. 44048/21 and 47349/21 also allege a violation of Article 3 of the Convention. Two of them, namely Nariman Enverovych Dzhelyalov and Asan Islamovych Akhtemov, allege that they were abducted and tortured by the Federal Security Service agents and that the investigations into those events were ineffective. The remaining applicants in these two applications who are close relatives of the above-mentioned two applicants allege that the suffering inflicted upon them in relation to their two relatives’ disappearance constituted a treatment prohibited by the Convention.
Lastly, the applicant in application no. 49522/14 complains that his allegedly illegal detention was aimed at putting pressure on his father in breach of Article 18 of the Convention.
QUESTIONS TO THE PARTIES
1. Have the applicants complied with the admissibility requirements set forth in Article 35 of the Convention?
2. Have the applicants in applications nos. 44048/21 and 47349/21 been subjected to inhuman or degrading treatment in breach of Article 3 of the Convention?
Having regard to the procedural protection from inhuman or degrading treatment (see Labita v. Italy [GC], no. 26772/95, § 131, ECHR 2000-IV), has the investigation by the authorities complied with the requirements of Article 3 of the Convention?
3. Were the applicants Nariman Enverovych Dzhelyalov and Asan Islamovych Akhtemov in applications nos. 44048/21 and 47349/21, and the applicant Khayser Mustafa Oglu Dzhemilov in application no. 49522/14, deprived of their liberty in breach of Article 5 § 1 of the Convention?
To that end, did the decisions taken by the courts in these applicants’ cases comply with the requirement of lawfulness within the meaning of Article 5 of the Convention (see, mutatis mutandis, Mozer v. the Republic of Moldova and Russia [GC], no. 11138/10, § 150, 23 February 2016)?
4. Having regard to the applicants’ complaints in applications nos. 44048/21 and 47349/21 that there were no relevant and sufficient reasons for their detention, were these applicants deprived of their liberty in breach of Article 5 § 1 (c) of the Convention?
5. Having regard to the applicant’s complaints in application no. 49522/14, has there been a breach of the applicant’s right of access to court as guaranteed by Article 6 § 1 of the Convention?
6. In application no. 49522/14, were the restrictions imposed by the respondent State, purportedly pursuant to Article 5 of the Convention, applied for a purpose other than those envisaged by this provision, contrary to Article 18 of the Convention?
7. Finally, did the alleged acts which gave rise to the applicants’ complaints have a basis in “law” within the meaning of the Convention provisions relied on by them?
APPENDIX
List of applications concerned:
No.
Application no.
Case name
Lodged on
Applicant
Year of Birth
Place of Residence
Nationality
Represented by
1.
49522/14
Dzhemilov v. Russia and Ukraine
09/07/2014
Khayser Mustafa Oglu DZHEMILOV
1981
Kyiv
Ukrainian
Oleksandr Vadymovych ZARUTSKYY
2.
44048/21
Dzhelyalova and Others v. Russia and Ukraine
06/09/2021
Leviza Lenurovna DZHELYALOVA
1984
Pervomayske
Ukrainian
Islam Refatovych AKHTEMOV
1963
Lyvadky
Ukrainian
Nariman Enverovych DZHELYALOV
1980
Pervomayske
Ukrainian
Asan Islamovych AKHTEMOV
1989
Lyvadky
Ukrainian
Yevgeniya Oleksandrivna ZAKREVSKA
3.
47349/21
Akhtemova and Others v. Russia and Ukraine
27/09/2021
Adile Firatovna AKHTEMOVA
1998
Pervomayske
Ukrainian
Eskender Lenmarovych AKHTEMOV
1969
Pervomayske
Ukrainian
Aziz Eskenderovych AKHTEMOV
1996
Pervomayske
Ukrainian
Yevgeniya Oleksandrivna ZAKREVSKA