{"id":2107,"date":"2016-02-23T20:38:01","date_gmt":"2016-02-23T20:38:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rcstaging.co.uk\/ehrac\/?p=2107"},"modified":"2021-05-21T18:49:45","modified_gmt":"2021-05-21T17:49:45","slug":"european-court-invites-russia-to-submit-observations-on-four-disappearance-cases-from-the-north-caucasus","status":"publish","type":[30],"link":"http:\/\/ehrac.org.uk\/en_gb\/european-court-invites-russia-to-submit-observations-on-four-disappearance-cases-from-the-north-caucasus\/","title":{"rendered":"European Court invites Russia to submit observations on four disappearance cases from the North Caucasus"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t\t
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On 7 January 2016, the European Court of Human Rights communicated\u00a0a group of cases<\/a>\u00a0relating to the alleged abductions and disappearances of four men, aged between 23 and 25, by State agents in Chechnya and Dagestan between 2007 and 2011. The\u00a0European Human Rights Advocacy Centre<\/a>\u00a0(EHRAC), based at\u00a0Middlesex University<\/a>, and\u00a0Memorial Human Rights Centre<\/a>\u00a0are representing Ayshat Sigauri, whose son disappeared in Grozny in 2011, and has not been seen since.<\/p>\n

Said Sigauri was a student at the Chechen State University. On the morning of 2 March 2011, he left his aunt\u2019s home in Grozny to attend classes. That day, federal forces carried out a special operation at the home of other relatives. Armed servicemen in camouflage uniforms surrounded the building and opened fire; Mr Sigauri\u2019s brother was shot dead. According to his cousin and other witnesses, Said Sigauri was detained by the police in the building\u2019s courtyard. The next day, Mr Sigauri phoned and texted his aunt on three occasions; there was no further contact and his whereabouts remain unknown. Upon the applicant\u2019s request, a criminal case was opened in June 2011; however it was suspended in September 2011, resumed in November 2011 and suspended again exactly one month later; the investigation is still pending.<\/p>\n

Ms. Sigauri lodged an application at the European Court on 15 June 2012, alleging violations of Mr Sigauri\u2019s right to life (Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights \u2013 ECHR), arguing that the circumstances of his disappearance indicate that the perpetrators were State agents, and that no effective investigation had been conducted; she further submitted that she had no access to an effective remedy in respect of these complaints, under Article 13 ECHR. She also complained that she has suffered severe mental distress as a result of the authorities\u2019 indifference towards her son\u2019s disappearance, under Article 3 ECHR. Moreover, she alleges that her son\u2019s unacknowledged detention constitutes a violation of the right to liberty (Article 5 ECHR).<\/p>\n

A further three applications regarding disappearances of men in Chechnya and Dagestan, all alleging similar violations to those outlined above, were communicated in this group,\u00a0Rashidov and others v Russia<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Russian Government is due to respond to the case by 16 May 2016.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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