European Court finds Russian authorities guilty of murdering a Chechen militiaman

The European Court for Human Rights (ECtHR) has recognized Russian authorities guilty of the murder of Aslanbek Kukaev, a militiaman of the Staropromyslovskiy ROVD (District Militia) of the capital of Chechnya - the city of Grozny.

The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent has learnt about it from Grigor Avetisyan, a lawyer of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial", who represented the interests of the victim's father at the Strasbourg Court.

Aslanbek Kukaev was detained by Russian militaries in the capital of Chechnya on November 26, 2000, and on April 22, 2001, his body with a bullet wound in the head was found at the entrance to one of the cellars in Grozny.

The Strasbourg Court has ruled that Russia had breached Aslanbek Kukaev's right to life (Article 2 of the European Convention on Human rights (ECHR)) and failed to run an effective investigation into the circumstances of Kukaev's disappearance and death (Articles 2 and 13 of the ECHR).

The European Court has also stated that a violation of Article 3 was admitted in relation to the victim's father: "Nobody shall be exposed to torture or inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment."

The Court also has established a violation of Article 13 of the Convention that guarantees the right to effective remedy. In the course of consideration of the case in Strasbourg, the Government of the Russian Federation refused to present the materials of Kukaev's criminal case to the Court, having breached Article 38 that fixes the rules for considering cases at the ECtHR.

The European judges have obliged the state of Russia to pay out 35,000 euros to Khamzat Kukaev, the father of the killed militiaman, as indemnification for the inflicted moral damage, and 7,000 euros for the material damage. The Russian Federation will also have to pay 7,150 euros of legal expenses, making the total liability for the Russian budget equal to 49,150 euros.