6.  The applicants are:
(1) Ms Tamara Daliyevna Shaipova, born in 1953;
(2) Ms Yakhita Musayevna Shaipova, born in 1974;
(3) Mr Ramzan Akhmedovich Shaipov, born in 1995;
(4) Mr Askhab Akhmedovich Shaipov, born in 1998; and
(5) Mr Magomed Akhmedovich Shaipov, born in 2002.
They live in the town of Urus-Martan in the Chechen Republic. 7.  The first applicant is the mother of Mr Akhmed Musayevich Shaipov, born in 1972. Akhmed Shaipov was married to the second applicant; they are the parents of the third, fourth and fifth applicants. 8.  On the night of 8 to 9 April 2003 the applicants and Akhmed Shaipov were in their family house at 79 Sportivnaya Street, Urus-Martan. 9.  At about 2.30 a.m. on 9 April 2003 Akhmed Shaipov went to the courtyard for a smoke and then hastily returned inside the house. He told the second applicant that he had heard a noise. The second applicant stepped outside into the courtyard and saw a group of armed men wearing camouflage uniforms coming in the direction of their house. She went back into the house and awakened her sister-in-law, Ms Petimat Shaipova, and the first applicant. Akhmed Shaipov went to his bedroom. 10.  Meanwhile a large group of armed men entered the applicants’ courtyard; they sat there for six or seven minutes. Then around ten of them broke into the applicants’ house. They were armed with machine guns, some of which were equipped with silencers, and wore masks. The applicants saw through holes in the masks that the men had blue eyes and Slavic features. The armed men spoke Russian without an accent. The applicants inferred that they were Russian federal servicemen. 11.  Without identifying themselves, the servicemen ordered the applicants to turn the light on and searched the house. When they entered the room where Akhmed Shaipov was sleeping, they woke him up and took him into the corridor. There the servicemen forced Akhmed Shaipov to the floor. One of them pressed his knee against Akhmed Shaipov’s back and pointed a machine gun at him. The armed men told the Shaipov women that they were carrying out a routine check and demanded that they produce Akhmed Shaipov’s identity papers. Having examined the papers, the men tied Akhmed Shaipov’s arms behind his back and plastered his mouth with adhesive tape, while some of the servicemen sent the applicants back to their rooms and leaned against the doors to stop them leaving. 12.  The servicemen took Akhmed Shaipov out of the house. He was barefoot; the servicemen allowed him to put on a pair of running shoes and then blindfolded him. The whole group left the applicants’ courtyard. 13.  The first and second applicants rushed out into the street and asked neighbours if anyone had seen their relative. Some witnesses noticed that the armed men had led Akhmed Shaipov in the direction of the centre of Urus-Martan via Sovetskaya Street in which two Russian federal troops’ checkpoints were based. The applicants submitted to the Court relevant witness statements and plans of their neighbourhood as evidence. 14.  At about 3 a.m. on 9 April 2003 unidentified men wearing camouflage uniforms and masks and armed with machine guns kidnapped Akhmed Shaipov from the house at 79 Sportivnaya Street, Urus-Martan. 15.  In the morning of 9 April 2003 the first applicant visited the head of the local administration and asked him to help find her son. On the same date she also applied to the prosecutor’s office of the Urus-Martan District (“the district prosecutor’s office”). 16.  In quest of Akhmed Shaipov, the applicants contacted, both in person and in writing, various official bodies, such as the military commander of the Urus-Martan District, the Urus-Martan district department of the interior, the Special Envoy of the Russian President in the Chechen Republic for Rights and Freedoms and the prosecutors’ offices at different levels. In their complaints they constantly referred to the circumstances of Akhmed Shaipov’s abduction and requested assistance in establishing his whereabouts and fate. They also sent requests concerning their relative to penitentiary institutions, but to no avail. The applicants retained copies of a number of those complaints and submitted them to the Court. 17.  On 12 May 2003 the district prosecutor’s office instituted an investigation into the disappearance of Akhmed Shaipov under Article 126 § 2 (aggravated kidnapping) of the Russian Criminal Code, assigned the case number 34055 and informed the first applicant accordingly. 18.  On 19 May 2003 the prosecutor’s office of the Chechen Republic forwarded the first applicant’s complaint to the district prosecutor’s office. 19.  On 1 July 2003 the district prosecutor’s office granted the first applicant victim status in case no. 34055. 20.  On 12 July 2003 the district prosecutor’s office suspended the investigation in case no. 34055 for failure to identify those responsible. 21.  On 31 July 2003 the first applicant requested the district prosecutor’s office to admit her to the proceedings in case no. 34055 as a victim and to inform her of progress in the investigation into her son’s kidnapping by servicemen of law enforcement agencies. Shortly after that she was provided with a copy of the decision of 1 July 2003. 22.  At the end of July 2003 the first applicant received a copy of the decision on suspension of the investigation dated 12 July 2003. 23.  On 4 August 2003 the first applicant wrote to the prosecutor’s office of the Chechen Republic alleging that her son had been apprehended by servicemen of law enforcement agencies. In support of her allegations she submitted that Akhmed Shaipov had been detained by around fifty men who had moved freely about the town past curfew and had not been stopped at two federal checkpoints. The first applicant requested the prosecutor’s office of the Chechen Republic to order the district prosecutor’s office to resume the investigation in case no. 34055 and take the requisite investigative measures. 24.  On 18 August 2003 the prosecutor’s office of the Chechen Republic forwarded the first applicant’s complaint to the district prosecutor’s office and requested that all investigative measures necessary to solve the crime be taken and the perpetrators be identified. 25.  On 12 November 2003 the first applicant complained to the Russian Prosecutor General about ineffectiveness of the investigation into her son’s kidnapping by “servicemen of federal law enforcement agencies”. She submitted in particular that the district prosecutor’s office and the prosecutor’s office of the Chechen Republic had not taken the requisite measures to verify the alleged federal servicemen’s implication in the crime, requesting that the investigators’ inactivity be declared unlawful and that the proceedings be resumed. 26.  On 27 November 2003 the prosecutor’s office of the Chechen Republic informed the first applicant that “on 13 December 2003 the acting prosecutor of the Urus-Martan District [had] quashed the decision on suspension of the preliminary investigation” into Akhmed Shaipov’s kidnapping and that investigative measures were being taken to solve the crime. 27.  On 16 April 2004 the Urus-Martan Town Court of the Chechen Republic upon the second applicant’s request declared Akhmed Shaipov missing as from 9 April 2003. 28.  On 11 November 2005 the first applicant requested the district prosecutor’s office to resume the investigation and to grant her access to the investigation file. 29.  On 18 November 2005 the district prosecutor’s office dismissed the first applicant’s request in part and stated that pursuant to domestic law a victim could only study records of investigative measures taken in his or her presence. 30.  On 30 March 2006 the first applicant again requested the district prosecutor’s office to allow her access to the investigation file. She was informed that she could study the documents related only to the investigative measures taken with her participation. 31.  On 18 December 2006 the first applicant requested the district prosecutor’s office to resume the investigation in case no. 34055 if it had been suspended. 32.  On 15 January 2007 the first applicant requested the district prosecutor’s office to admit her to the criminal proceedings as a civil party and claimed the amount of 5,000,000 Russian roubles in respect of non-pecuniary damage. On 23 January 2007 her request was granted. 33.  On 12 May 2003 the district prosecutor’s office instituted an investigation into Akhmed Shaipov’s abduction under Article 126 § 2 of the Russian Criminal Code (aggravated kidnapping). The case file was assigned number 34055. 34.  On an unspecified date the crime scene was inspected, but this brought no positive results. 35.  On 14 May 2003 the first applicant was questioned as a witness. She submitted that at about 2.50 a.m. unknown armed men in camouflage uniforms and masks had entered her house, handcuffed her son and taken him outside. Then they had blindfolded Akhmed Shaipov with adhesive tape and taken him away. The following morning she had found footprints on the road that had been left by her son’s running shoes; they had led her to the town centre of Urus-Martan where the military commander’s office of the Urus-Martan District had been located. She had talked to a serviceman of the military commander’s office and he had advised her to file an application with law enforcement agencies. Her son had not participated in any illegal armed groups. 36.  On 16 May 2003 the second applicant was questioned. She submitted that at about 3.50 a.m. on 9 April 2003 unknown armed men in camouflage uniforms and masks had entered her house and searched it. They had checked her husband’s identity papers, handcuffed him, taken him outside and blindfolded him. In the morning she and her mother-in-law had followed the footprints of her husband’s running shoes and visited the military commander’s office. Akhmad Shaipov had not been a member of illegal armed groups. 37.  On 21 May 2003 the investigators requested information concerning Akhmed Shaipov and any special operations involving his arrest from the prosecutors’ offices of various towns and districts of the Chechen Republic. According to the replies received, Akhmed Shaipov had not been under criminal investigation; neither had he been kept in temporary detention facilities. 38.  On 1 July 2003 the first applicant was granted victim status and questioned. She repeated her statement of 14 May 2003. 39.  On 11 July 2003 the military prosecutor’s office of military unit no. 20102 informed the investigators that the military commander’s office of the Urus-Martan District and military units under its control had not carried out any special operations on 8 and 9 April 2003 in the Urus-Martan District. 40.  On 12 July 2003 the district prosecutor’s office suspended the investigation in case no. 34055 for failure to find those responsible. 41.  On 27 August 2003 the military commander’s office of the Urus-Martan District informed the investigators that they had not detained Akhmed Shaipov and had no information on his whereabouts. 42.  On 13 December 2003 the district prosecutor’s office resumed the investigation for the reason that it had been incomplete. 43.  On 20 December 2003 the second applicant was questioned and submitted the following. Those who had kidnapped her husband had been armed with machine guns without butt stocks and fitted with silencers, together with grenade launchers. All the men had been masked; three or four of them had been wearing dark-blue running shoes with white stripes. The men had been wearing khaki uniforms. They had mentioned no names while conversing amongst themselves. In 2000 the second applicant had found out that her husband had been taking drugs. He had borrowed a lot of money from unknown persons. 44.  On 20 December 2003 a witness stated that Akhmed Shaipov had been a drug-addict. He had not had any connections with Wahabees and his family had not been involved in any feud. 45.  On 21 December 2003 the first applicant was questioned and submitted that her son had been unemployed and that he had been taking drugs since 1994. He had borrowed money from different persons unknown to the first applicant. Those persons had often visited their household. 46.  On 21 December 2003 Akhmad Shaipov’s father was questioned. He submitted that he had not been at home on the night of his son’s abduction. He had disapproved of his son’s lifestyle because the latter had borrowed money and had not repaid his debts. 47.  On 22 December 2003 the father of an acquaintance of Akhmad Shaipov was questioned and submitted that he did not know where his son was or whether he had been in contact with Akhmad Shaipov. 48.  On 23 December 2003 the district prosecutor’s office suspended the investigation. 49.  On 23 January 2004 the department of the interior of the Urus-Martan District informed the investigators that investigative measures taken to find Akhmed Shaipov had so far been fruitless; that they had no information concerning Akhmed Shaipov’s participation in illegal armed groups. Akhmed Shaipov had not been kept in the temporary detention facility. He had not applied for medical help in any hospitals. His body had not been found among unidentified corpses. 50.  The departments of the Federal Security Service, the penitentiary facilities IZ-20/1 and IZ-20/2 and other law enforcement agencies submitted that they had not detained Akhmed Shaipov and had no information on him. 51.  On 18 November 2005 the district prosecutor’s office quashed the decision of 23 December 2003 and resumed the proceedings. They stated that it was necessary to carry out a number of investigative measures, for instance, to order that law enforcement agencies take steps to identify the perpetrators, to collect recommendations concerning Akhmad Shaipov, and to send requests to penitentiary facilities of the Southern Federal Circuit, as well as to question witnesses and Akhmad Shaipov’s relatives. 52.  On 21 November 2005 the investigators requested information on Akhmed Shaipov’s arrest from all departments of the interior in the Chechen Republic. From the replies received it followed that no criminal proceedings against Akhmed Shaipov had been pending and that he had not been detained in temporary detention facilities. 53.  The information centre of the Russian Ministry of the Interior submitted that in 2001 Akhmed Shaipov had been convicted of drug trafficking and sentenced to nine months’ imprisonment and that he had served his sentence. No other criminal proceedings against him had been pending. 54.  On 5 December 2005 the first applicant was questioned and submitted that in 2001 Akhmad Shaipov had been convicted of drug trafficking. Her other son had fought the federal troops and had been killed in the course of the anti-terrorism campaign. 55.  On 18 December 2005 the district prosecutor’s office suspended the investigation. 56.  On 18 January 2007 an investigator of the district prosecutor’s office accepted the investigation in case no. 34055. 57.  On 18 February 2007 the investigation was suspended. 58.  On 31 March 2007 the district prosecutor’s office resumed the proceedings in case no. 34055. 59.  On 1 May 2007 the investigation was suspended and the first applicant was informed accordingly. 60.  On 17 May 2007 the district prosecutor’s office resumed the investigation and then suspended it on 17 June 2007. 61.  On 19 and 29 May 2007 the investigators questioned the applicants’ neighbours, Ms and Mr I., respectively. Both witnesses submitted that they had not seen anyone on the night of Akhmed Shaipov’s kidnapping and learned of it from the applicants some time in April 2003. 62.  On 23 July 2007 the Russian Ministry of Defence submitted that it had no information on any special operations allegedly carried out in Urus-Martan on 8 and 9 April 2003. 63.  The investigation failed to establish the whereabouts of Akhmed Shaipov but was not completed. The investigating authorities sent requests for information to the competent State agencies and took other steps to have the crime solved. The investigation found no evidence to support the involvement of law enforcement agencies in the crime. 64.  The Government further submitted that the investigating authorities were taking measures to verify whether persons involved in drug trafficking had been implicated in Akhmed Shaipov’s kidnapping. 65.  Despite specific requests by the Court the Government did not disclose most of the contents of the investigation file in case no. 34055, providing only copies of decisions to suspend and resume the investigation and to grant victim status, as well as of several notifications to the relatives. Relying on the information obtained from the Prosecutor General’s Office, the Government stated that the investigation was in progress and that disclosure of the documents would be in violation of Article 161 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, since the file contained information of a military nature and personal data concerning the witnesses or other participants in the criminal proceedings.