ECtHR intervenes into Umarov's disappearance case

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) is considering special security measures for Movsar Umarov, a resident of Chechnya, whose escape during a special operation was announced by law enforcers, the "Committee against Torture" (CaT) has reported.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Eset, the mother of Movsar Umarov, a resident of Grozny, stated that her son was detained for watching the video blog run by Tumso Abdurakhmanov, a popular critic of Chechen authorities. According to Eset Umarova, she learned through unofficial channels that law enforcers had tried, by threats of lengthy imprisonment, to force him to help them in catching militants. Then, the woman, as she said, was told that her son had fled. She suggested that Movsar had fallen victim to an extrajudicial execution.

The ECtHR has notified CaT's lawyers that it is considering the possibility of applying Rule 39 to ensure Movsar Umarov's safety. Besides, the ECtHR asked the Russian government for information about the reasons why Umarov had got under control of Chechen law enforcers, says the today's post on the CaT's website.

Earlier, on September 14, the CaT's lawyers sent to the ECtHR a complaint about the violation of Movsar Umarov's rights, provided for in Articles 3 and 5 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR), on the prohibition of torture and the right to personal security. The CaT's lawyers raised the issue of applying Rule 39 and asked to demand from Russia to establish Umarov's whereabouts, as well as to guarantee his release and safety.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on September 16, 2020 at 04:09 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.