Communicated on 2 December 2019

THIRD SECTION

Application no. 37008/19 A.A. and O thers against Russia lodged on 27 June 2019

STATEMENT OF FACTS

The application concerns allegations of enforced disappearances and extrajudicial execution of the applicants ’ relatives by law-enforcement agencies perpetrated in the end of 2016 - beginning of 2017 in the Chechen Republic. After the disappearance of their relatives, the applicants and their family members have allegedly been subjected to intimidation by local authorities in attempts to dissuade them from lodging complaints for criminal investigation into the incidents. No criminal case was opened into the applicants ’ allegations by the domestic authorities, albeit for an inquiry which resulted in refusals to open a criminal case. On 18 December 2019 the applicants were granted anonymity pursuant to Rule 47 § 4 of the Rules of Court.

COMPLAINTS

The applicants complain under Article 2 of the Convention that their relatives were abducted and most probably killed by State agents and that the authorities failed to investigate the matter. Under Article 3 of the Convention, the applicants complain of the mental suffering caused by their relatives ’ disappearance and the authorities ’ attitude thereto. Under Article 5 of the Convention the applicants allege that their relatives were subjected to unlawful detention and under Article 13 of the Convention the applicants complain of the lack of domestic remedies in respect of the authorities ’ failure to investigate their relatives ’ disappearance.

QUESTIONS TO THE PARTIES

1. Have the applicants made out prima facie cases that their relatives disappeared as a result of actions of State agents? If so, can the burden of proof be shifted to the Government in respect of providing a satisfactory and convincing explanation of the circumstances of the applicants ’ relatives ’ disappearance (see Varnava and Others v. Turkey [GC], nos. 16064/90 and 8 others, §§ 181-84, ECHR 2009, and Tanış and Others v. Turkey , no. 65899/01, § 160, ECHR 2005 ‑ VIII)?

Are the Government in a position to rebut the applicants ’ submissions that State agents were involved in the disappearances by submitting documents which are in their exclusive possession or by providing by other means a satisfactory and convincing explanation of the events?

2. Has the right to life, as guaranteed by Article 2 of the Convention, been violated in respect of the applicants ’ disappeared relatives? Having regard to the procedural protection of the right to life (see Salman v. Turkey [GC], no. 21986/93, § 104, ECHR 2000-VII), has the investigation in the present cases by the domestic authorities been sufficient to meet their obligation to carry out an effective investigation, as required by Article 2 of the Convention?

The Government are invited to submit information along with copies of relevant documents concerning all of the special operations carried out in the Chechen Republic in December 2016 and January 2017, including the list of the individuals detained during those operations and their subsequent fate.

The Government are also invited to provide information and copies of relevant documents showing the steps taken to verify the allegations of intimidation of the relatives of the disappeared individuals by the police, such as the information concerning the public gatherings referred to by the applicants in January – February 2017 involving the representatives of the law-enforcement agencies in Chechnya.

3. Has the applicants ’ mental suffering in connection with the disappearance of their relatives and the authorities ’ alleged indifference in that respect and alleged failure to conduct an effective investigation into the matter been sufficiently serious to amount to inhuman and degrading treatment, within the meaning of Article 3 of the Convention? If so, has there been a breach of Article 3 of the Convention in respect of the applicants?

4. Were the applicants ’ disappeared relatives deprived of their liberty, within the meaning of Article 5 § 1 of the Convention? If such detention took place, was it in compliance with the guarantees of Article 5 §§ 1 – 5 of the Convention?

5. Have the applicants had at their disposal effective domestic remedies in relation to the alleged violation of Article 2 of the Convention, as required by Article 13 of the Convention?

6. In accordance with the provisions of Article 38 of the Convention, the Government are requested to provide the following information:

(a) any information, supported by relevant documents, which is capable of rebutting the applicants ’ allegations that their missing relatives were abducted by State agents;

and , in any event,

(b) a complete list indicating in the chronological order the dates of the abduction complaints lodged by the applicants with the domestic authorities and the dates and brief summary of the authorities ’ reply to each of the complaints;

(c) a complete list indicating in the chronological order all investigative actions or inquiry steps taken in connection with the applicants ’ abduction complaints, indicating dates and the authorities involved, as well as a brief summary of the findings;

as well as:

(d) copies of those documents in the relevant preliminary inquiry and the criminal investigation files that are necessary for establishing the factual circumstances of the allegations and evaluating the effectiveness of the criminal investigation.