Last Updated on May 24, 2019 by LawEuro
Communicated on 7 September 2018
THIRD SECTION
Application no. 5725/11
Eliza DASHUYEVA
against Russia
lodged on 22 December 2010
STATEMENT OF FACTS
The applicant, Ms Eliza Dashuyeva, is a Russian national who was born in 1981 and lives in Grozny, the Chechen Republic. She is the sister of Mr Zelimkhan Dashuyev, who was born in 1983 and the daughter of Ms Khalisat Ayupova, who was born in 1950.
The facts of the case, as submitted by the applicant, may be summarised as follows.
A. Killing of the applicant’s brother and the investigation into the incident
On 17 November 2005 the applicant’s brother, Mr Zelimkhan Dashuyev, was abducted from his house in the Prigorodnoye village, in the Grozny district by a group of State servicemen in camouflage uniforms.
On 18 November 2005 his body, bearing the traces of a violent death, was found in the vicinity of the Chechen-Aul village in the Grozny district.
On 18 November 2005 the Grozny district prosecutor’s office opened criminal case no. 44402.
On 18 February 2006 the investigation of the criminal case was suspended for failure to identify the perpetrators. The applicant was not informed of this suspension.
On 26 August 2010 the applicant complained to the Grozny District Court that the investigation had been ineffective and requested that it be resumed and all measures possible taken to identify the perpetrators.
On 19 October 2010 the court refused to examine her complaint as it had already been examined and allowed by the investigators’ superiors.
On 1 November 2010 (in the documents submitted the date was also cited as 6 December 2005) the applicant was granted victim status in the criminal case.
It appears that on or around 18 November 2010 the investigation was again suspended. It appears that it is still pending.
B. Killing of the applicant’s mother and the investigation into the incident
At about 9 p.m. on 14 October 2006 an unidentified person opened fire in Lesnaya Street, in the vicinity of Ms Ayupova’s house and the house next door. As a result, A. N. received a gunshot wound to his right arm and was taken to the 9th clinical hospital in Grozny for medical treatment. His neighbour, Ms Ayupova, received a gunshot wound to the chest and died instantly.
On 14 October 2006 the investigators examined the crime scene at Ms Ayupova’s house. According to their report, she had had been shot dead and her body was found inside the house. Seven spent nine-millimetre calibre bullet cartridges were collected from the scene.
It was stated in the decision issued by the Grozny prosecutor’s office (“the investigators”) for the purpose of opening criminal case no. 54101 of 15 October 2006 that Ms Ayupova had received a gunshot wound and had been taken to the 9th clinical hospital in Grozny, where she died soon after arrival.
On 25 October 2006 the investigation in criminal case no. 54101 was joined to that of criminal case no. 54102 − opened in connection with the wounding of A.N. − under the number 54101 since it had been established that he and Ms Ayupova had both been shot by the same firearm.
On an unspecified date between October and December 2006 the applicant was granted victim status in the criminal case.
On 20 or 25 October 2006 the investigators questioned A.N. and carried out an identification of possible perpetrators using photographs. He identified the person who had shot him as V.G.
On 7 November 2006 the suspect V.G. was shot dead as a result of a special operation conducted by the Chechnya Federal Security Service (the FSB). During the same operation it was established that a certain R.A. was an accomplice of V.G., who had acted with him during the incident on 14 October 2006 and had managed to escape. Mr R.A.’s name was put on the wanted list.
On 14 December 2006 the investigators suspended the investigation in the criminal case. The applicant was not informed of the suspicion.
On an unspecified date in 2010, the applicant complained to the Grozny District Court that the investigation of criminal case no. 54101 had been ineffective and requested that it be resumed. On 19 October 2010 her complaint was left without examination since the investigators had resumed the proceedings on 18 October 2010.
On 18 November 2010 the investigation in the criminal case was suspended again. The proceedings are still pending.
C. 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 applicant complains under Article 2 of the Convention that her brother and then her mother had been killed by State agents in 2005 and 2006 respectively and that the authorities failed to carry out an effective investigation into the circumstances of their deaths.
QUESTIONS TO THE PARTIES
1. Has the applicant in complied with the six-month time-limit laid down in Article 35 § 1 of the Convention in respect of her complaints concerning the death of her brother, Mr Zelimkhan Dashuyev and her mother, Ms Khalisat Ayupova?
2. Has the right to life of the applicants’ relatives Mr Zelimkhan Dashuyev and Ms Khalisat Ayupova, ensured by Article 2 of the Convention, been violated in the present case? In particular, has there been a violation of the positive obligation under Article 2 of the Convention to protect Ms Khalisat Ayupova’s life?
3. 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?
4. The Government are requested to produce copies of all the contents of criminal case files nos. 44402 (opened in connection with the killing of Mr Zelimkhan Dashuyev) and 54101 (opened in connection with the killing of Ms Khalisat Ayupova).
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