Published on 11 April 2023
THIRD SECTION
Application no. 13837/20
Nargiz Alisafayevna KAZIMOVA against Russia
and 2 other applications
(see list appended)
communicated on 22 March 2023
SUBJECT MATTER OF THE CASE
(1) Applications nos. 13837/20 and 40452/20 concern two unrelated counts of abduction of the applicants’ relatives perpetrated in Chechnya, allegedly by State agents. According to the applicant in Kazimova v Russia (no. 13837/20), her son Mr Nillan Aliyev was abducted from a hostel in Grozny in February 2020 and his whereabouts have been unknown since. According to the applicant in Umarov v Russia (no. 40452/20), his brother Mr Movsar Umarov was taken to a police station in Grozny in July 2020, where he was subjected to ill‑treatment and has been missing since. The applicants allege that the investigation of the criminal cases opened into the incidents has been ineffective.
(2) Application no. 4573/22 concerns the first applicant’s allegedly forcible removal from Nizhniy Novgorod to Grozny on 20 January 2022, her detention, administrative conviction and criminal proceedings initiated against her, as well as death threats to the applicants and the members of their family (see Appendix for further details).
QUESTIONS TO THE PARTIES
Applications nos. 13837/20 and 40452/20
1. Has there been a violation of the substantive and procedural obligations under Article 2 of the Convention in respect of Mr Nillan Aliyev and Mr Movsar Umarov and of those obligations under Article 3 of the Convention in respect of Movsar Umarov?
2. Has there been a breach of Article 3 of the Convention in respect of the applicants on account of their mental suffering?
3. Were Mr Nillan Aliyev and Mr Movsar Umarov deprived of their liberty in violation of Article 5 of the Convention?
4. Have the applicants had at their disposal effective domestic remedies in relation to the alleged violations of Article 2 of the Convention, as required by Article 13 of the Convention?
5. In accordance with the provisions of Article 38 of the Convention, the Government are requested to provide any documents relevant to the above questions.
Application no. 4573/22
1. Has there been a violation of the positive and/or procedural obligations under Articles 2 and 3 of the Convention in respect of the applicants?
2. Was the first applicant’s deprivation of liberty starting from 20 January 2022 and onwards in compliance with the guarantees of Article 5 of the Convention?
3. Was there a violation of the first applicant’s rights under Article 6 of the Convention in respect of the administrative proceedings which resulted in her conviction on 22 January 2022? Has there been a breach of the presumption of innocence, guaranteed by Article 6 § 2 of the Convention, in respect of the criminal proceedings initiated against her under Article 318 of the Criminal Code?
4. Has there been violation of the applicants’ right to respect for their private life and/or home, within the meaning of Article 8 of the Convention, in respect of the events of 20 January 2022?
5. Were the restriction of the first applicant’s rights, purportedly pursuant to Article 5 of the Convention, applied for a purpose other than those envisaged by that provision, contrary to Article 18 of the Convention?
6. In view of the Court’s decision to impose, on 14 February 2022, an interim measure under Rule 39 of the Rules of Court, has there been a hindrance by the State with the effective exercise of the applicants’ right of application, ensured by Article 34 of the Convention?
7. Did the immediate execution of the sentence of administrative imprisonment imposed on the first applicant on 22 January 2022 disclose a violation of Article 2 of Protocol No. 7 to the Convention?
Appendix
Application no. 13837/20
No.
Applicant’s Name, year of birth, nationality, place of residence, represented by
Kinship to the disappeared person
Relevant criminal proceedings
1.
Ms Nargiz KAZIMOVA,
1963,
Russian,
Derbent,
represented by Stichting Russian Justice Initiative/ Astreya
Mother of Mr Nillan Aliyev (born in 1989), who was allegedly abducted by law-enforcement agents from hostel “Tourist” in Grozny in February 2020
On 26 March 2020 the Chechnya Investigative Committee opened criminal case no. 120029600250000006 under Article 105 of the Criminal Code (murder) into the disappearance of Mr Aliyev
Application no. 40452/20
No.
Applicant’s Name, year of birth, nationality, place of residence, represented by
Kinship to the disappeared person
Relevant criminal proceedings
1.
Mr Musa UMAROV,
1988,
Russian,
Naurskaya,
represented by lawyers from Committee Against Torture
Brother of Mr Movsar Umarov (born in 1986), who disappeared from the Leninskiy district police station in Grozny in August 2020
On 28 September 2020 the Chechnya Investigative Committee opened criminal case no. 12002960003000037 under Article 105 of the Criminal Code (murder) into the disappearance of Mr Umarov
Application no. 4573/22
No.
Applicant’s Name, year of birth, nationality, place of residence, represented by
Relevant information
1.
Ms Zarema MUSAYEVA,
1969,
Russia,
Grozny
represented by lawyers from NGO “Committee Against Torture”
The first applicant, Ms Zarema Musayeva, is the wife of the second applicant, who is a former judge of the Chechnya Supreme Court. They have three sons and a daughter, the third applicant. In 2017 and 2018 the second applicant and his sons Mr Abubakar and Mr Ibrahim Yangulbayev were allegedly subjected to torture by State agents in Chechnya. According to the applicants, following these events, they left Chechnya and moved to Nizhniy Novgorod. Out of fear for his life, their son and brother Ibrahim left Russia and applied for asylum in Norway.
On 20 January 2022 the first applicant was subjected to forcible taking by the police from Nizhniy Novgorod to Grozny, Chechnya, to give her statement as a witness in a criminal case. Allegedly, two summons which had been sent to her had not been delivered and therefore, on 11 January 2022 it had been decided to bring her over there by force. The first applicant suffers, amongst other things, from diabetes and requires several shots of insulin daily. During her forcible removal from Nizhniy Novgorod, all her medication was allegedly left behind.
On 21 January 2022 the Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov made a post concerning the applicants’ family, in which he stated inter alia that “[i]n any case, I declare that either imprisonment or death awaits this family”. On 1 February 2022, the Chechen Vice Prime Minister Mr Vismuradov stated inter alia “let your last breath be [provoked] by our hands (...) we will cut your head and rip your tongue (...)”. Other officials and private persons made various statements in mass media which could be interpreted as death threats.
On 22 January 2022, the second and third applicants left Russia.
On 22 January 2022 upon arrival in Chechnya the first applicant allegedly used obscene language. Therefore, on 22 January 2022 she was sentenced by the Leninskiy District Court in Grozny to 15 days of administrative arrest and was supposed to be taken to serve the sentence in the special detention facility of the Chechen Ministry of the Interior.
On 27 January 2022 a criminal case under Article 318 of the Criminal Code (“violence against a representative of authority”) was opened against the first applicant for assault on a police officer she had allegedly committed on 21 January 2022. On 1 February 2022, the Staropromyslovskiy District Court in Grozny ordered her pre-trial detention which was regularly prolonged. The outcome of those criminal proceedings is currently unknown.
2.
Mr Sayda YANGULBAYEV,
1958,
Russian,
see representative address
3.
Ms Aliya YANGULBAYEVA,
2000,
Russian,
see representative address