Communicated on 9 May 2017
THIRD SECTION
Applications nos 14202/08 and 21432/12
Khazan YUNUSOVA and Uruskhan YUNUSOV against Russia
and Aset ATABAYEVA and Others against Russia
lodged on 14 February 2008 and 23 March 2012 respectively
STATEMENT OF FACTS
A list of the applicants is set out in the appendix.
A. The circumstances of the case
The facts of the case, as submitted by the applicants, may be summarised as follows.
1. Application no. 14202/08 Yunusova and Yunusov v. Russia
(a) Killing of Mr Ruslan Yunusov
At the material time, the applicant’s relative, Colonel Ruslan Yunusov, who was born in 1964, was the Deputy Minister for Emergency Situations of the Chechen Republic.
Between 29 and 30 December 2001 an armoured reconnaissance patrol vehicle (BRDM) of the Russian federal forces opened unprovoked fire on a vehicle of the Ministry for Emergency Situations (the MES) and wounded one of Mr Yunusov’s colleagues. After the incident the BRDM, which belonged to the Leninskiy district military prosecutor’s office in Grozny, drove off. The incident was reported to the Minister for Emergency Situations of the Chechen Republic.
On 4 January 2002 the BRDM arrived at the premises of the Ministry of Emergency Situations in Grozny for some repair work, where it was recognised as the vehicle responsible for the incident on 29-30 December 2001. Officers of the MES requested that the vehicle remain on their premises awaiting the arrival of the Grozny military commander, who had been informed of the incident.
The BRDM crew refused to obey the order, shut the hatches and tried to drive off the MES premises through the exit gates (checkpoint no. 4). Colonel Yunusov jumped onto the military vehicle and covered its eye slits with his jacket to try to stop it from moving. The BRDM turned the turret and, having opened fire, drove through the gates with Mr Yunusov still on its hull. The vehicle drove at high speed in the direction of the Leninskiy district military commander’s office, which was located in the vicinity.
Shortly thereafter, servicemen of the district military commander’s office opened fire on Mr Yunusov on the BRDM and shot him. The vehicle stopped at the gates of the military commander’s office and Mr Yunusov was taken to the Grozny town hospital no. 9, where he died a short time later from his wounds.
(b) Official investigation into the killing
The Grozny prosecutor’s office (in the documents submitted also stated as Staropromyslovskiy district prosecutor’s office) opened criminal case no. 54001 in connection with the killing of Colonel Yunusov on 4 January 2002.
Between January and October 2002 the investigation questioned a number of witnesses to the incident and established that Colonel Yunusov had been shot by machine gun no. 2094 belonging to police officer A.L., who at the time was deployed on a temporary military mission in the Chechen Republic from another region of the Russian Federation. From the documents submitted it does not appear that any specific steps were taken to establish his whereabouts.
On 20 October 2002 the first applicant was granted victim status in the criminal case. The documents submitted show that the applicants and their representatives regularly contacted the authorities with information requests concerning the progress in the criminal proceedings. The applicants also lodged several complaints with the Prosecutor General’s office asking it to expedite the investigation in the criminal case and prosecute the perpetrators.
The investigation was suspended on several occasions and then resumed at the applicants’ request. For instance, it was suspended on 21 October 2002, 11 November 2004, on 14 November 2005 and then again on 13 January 2006, 17 February and 13 May 2007. The applicants appealed to the supervising prosecutors and then to the Staropromyslovskiy District Court in Grozny and the Chechnya Supreme Court concerning the suspensions. The courts granted their appeals and ordered that the investigators resume the proceedings, pursuant to which a number of steps were taken. However, it does not appear that their orders were complied with.
From the documents submitted it transpires that the perpetrators of Mr Yunusov’s killing have not yet been identified and that the investigation is still pending.
In support of their submission before the Court, the applicants furnished the Court with statements by the first applicant and four colleagues of Mr Yunusov’s who had witnessed the incident, along with copies of several documents from the criminal case file and the complaints they had lodged with the domestic courts.
2. Application no. 21432/12 Atabayeva and Others v. Russia
(a) Killing of Mr Dzhabrail Atabayev and Mr Alkhazur Atabayev
On 26 January 2005 the third applicant and the applicants’ relatives Mr Dzhabrail Atabayev and Mr Alkhazur Atabayev were driving in the fourth applicant’s VAZ-2110 car after visiting a relative at Grozny Hospital.
As the vehicle was driving at a distance of about 250 metres from the federal forces checkpoint manned by servicemen from the “Zapad” (West) battalion of the Chechnya Ministry of the Interior, their car was subjected to unprovoked gunfire from machine guns and a grenade launcher fired by armed men in three UAZ vehicles who had just passed through the checkpoint.
After the shooting stopped, several servicemen from the checkpoint approached the perpetrators. The latter got in their cars and drove away, passing without hindrance through the checkpoint.
As a result of the fire, Mr Dzhabrail Atabayev and Mr Alkhazur Atabayev were killed on the spot and the third applicant was taken to Grozny Hospital.
Later on the same date, some of the federal TV-channels broadcast news of the “liquidation” by federal forces of the applicants’ two relatives as members of illegal armed groups.
(b) Official investigation into the killing
On 26 January 2005 the applicants complained about the killing to the authorities and on the same date the Staropromyslovskiy district prosecutor’s office opened criminal case no. 43015.
It is unclear what steps were taken by the investigation between 2005 and 2011 and whether the applicants corresponded with the authorities. It appears that at some point during that period the third applicant was granted victim status in the criminal case.
On 23 September 2011 the investigation was suspended for failure to identify the perpetrators.
B. Relevant domestic law
For a summary of the relevant domestic regulations see Kosumova v. Russia, no. 2527/09, §§ 66-72, 16 October 2014.
COMPLAINTS
The applicants in both applications complain under Article 2 of the Convention that their three relatives were killed by State agents and that the ensuing investigation was ineffective. Under the same provision the applicants in Atabayeva and Others v. Russia (no. 21432/12) complain of a violation of Article 2 of the Convention on account of the wounding of the third applicant.
Under Article 13 of the Convention, the applicants in both applications alleged that they had no effective remedies against their complaints under Article 2 of the Convention.
QUESTIONS
1. Have the applicants in both applications complied with the six-month time-limit laid down in Article 35 § 1 of the Convention?
2. Has the right to life of the applicants’ relatives Mr Ruslan Yunusov, Mr Dzhabrail Atabayev and Mr Alkhazur Atabayev, ensured by Article 2 of the Convention, been violated in the present case?
3. Has the right to life of the third applicant in the application Atabayeva and Others v. Russia (no. 21432/12), ensured by Article 2 of the Convention, been violated in the present case?
4. Taking into consideration the procedural protection of the right to life (see paragraph 104 of Salman v. Turkey [GC], no. 21986/93, ECHR 2000‑VII), was the investigation in the present case by the domestic authorities in breach of Article 2 of the Convention?
5. Did the applicants have at their disposal effective domestic remedies for the above complaints under Article 2 of the Convention as required by Article 13 of the Convention?
6. The Government are requested to produce copies of the entire contents of criminal case files nos. 54001 (opened in connection with the killing of Mr Ruslan Yunusov) and 43015 (opened in connection with the killing of Mr Dzhabrail Atabayev and Mr Alkhazur Atabayev and the wounding of Mr Adam Atabayev).
APPENDIX
No.
Application title and no.
Date of introduction, representative
Applicants’ details (relations, date of birth, place of residence)
Persons killed, date and place of the incident
Investigation
1.
Yunusovy v. Russia
no. 14202/08
14 February 2008, represented by lawyers of the Stitching Russian Justice Initiative/Astreya
1) Ms Khazan Yunusova, born in 1946, mother of Mr Ruslan Yunusov, lives in Grozny, the Chechen Republic;
2) Mr Uruskhan Yunusov, born in 1970, brother of Mr Ruslan Yunusov, lives in Grozny, the Chechen Republic.
Mr Ruslan Yunusov, killed on 4 January 2002, in Grozny.
Criminal case no. 54001 (in the documents submitted also stated as no. 5 ПР-01) opened on 4 January 2002 by the Grozny prosecutor’s office. The proceedings are pending.
2.
Atabayevy v. Russia
no. 21432/12
23 March 2012,
represented
by Mr D. Itslayev
1) Ms Aset Atabayeva, born in 1964, lives in Khildikheroy, the Chechen Republic;
2) Mr Supyan Atabayev, born in 1950, lives in Pervomayskaya, the Chechen Republic;
3) Mr Adam Atabayev, born in 1982, lives in Grozny, the Chechen Republic;
4) Mr Umar-Khadzhi Atabayev, born in 1955, lives in Khildikheroy, the Chechen Republic.
1) Mr Dzhabrail Atabayev, born in 1989 and
2) Mr Alkhazur Atabayev, born in 1989. Both men were killed on 26 January 2005 in Grozny.
On 26 January 2005 the Staropromyslovskiy district prosecutor’s office opened criminal case no. 43015. The proceedings are pending.
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