ECtHR obliges Russia to pay out 200,000 euros of compensation for 3 disappearances in the Caucasus

Today, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has found Russia guilty of disappearance of three residents of Chechnya - Sultan Khatuev, Louisa Mutaeva and Vakhit Dzhabrailov - in 2003-2004, while the inquiry into these disappearances was found inefficient.

The first decision was passed by the Court on the case "Louisa Khatueva versus Russia" and recognized that in relation to the applicant's husband - Sultan Khatuev - Russian authorities had broken a number of inalienable laws, including the right to life.

As reported in the statement of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial", which provided lawyers to represent Louisa Khatueva's interests at the European Court, on August 2, 2004, in a settlement of forced migrants in Ingushetia, Russian militaries conducted a special operation aimed to reveal members of illegal armed formations (IAFs). The applicant's husband Sultan was detained and brought, together with his seven fellow-villagers, to the Sunzha ROVD (District Interior Division); later, some of detainees were let off.

On the following day, Khatuev's relatives received information that Sultan had been taken away by FSB agents, and the ROVD has no data about his whereabouts. Since then, nothing had ever been heard about Sultan Khatuev.

The ECtHR has ruled that the applicant shall be rewarded with 60,000 euros for her moral sufferings and 10,000 euros for her material losses. The ECtHR has also decided that her representatives shall get 2165 euros for their services. The total compensation awarded on the three cases considered today has made 201,000 euros.

Louisa Mutaeva, 20, was detained in her mother's house in Assinovskaya village in Chechnya in January 2004 by a group of armed people; since then, nobody ever saw her. Russian authorities assert that curtain unidentified persons had been involved in Louisa's disappearance.

Vakhit Dzhabrailov was detained at home in Chechnya in January 2003 and taken away in direction of the Shali ROVD. No information about him since then.