CASE OF KERIMOVA AND OTHERS v. RUSSIA

Articles 2 ; 2-1 ; 8 ; 8-1 ; 35 ; 35-1 ; 41 ; P1-1 ; P1-1-1
FIRST SECTION
CASE OF OMISSISA AND OTHERS v. RUSSIA
(Applications nos. 17170/04, 20792/04, 22448/04,
23360/04, 5681/05 and 5684/05)
JUDGMENT
STRASBOURG
3 May 2011
This judgment will become final in the circumstances set out in Article 44 § 2 of the Convention. It may be subject to editorial revision.

In the case of OMISSISa and Others v. Russia,
The European Court of Human Rights (First Section), sitting as a Chamber composed of:
Nina Vajić, President,
Anatoly Kovler,
Christos Rozakis,
Peer Lorenzen,
Elisabeth Steiner,
Khanlar Hajiyev,
George Nicolaou, judges,
and André Wampach, Deputy Section Registrar,
Having deliberated in private on 5 April 2011,
Delivers the following judgment, which was adopted on that date:
PROCEDURE
1. The case originated in six applications (nos. 17170/04, 20792/04, 22448/04, 23360/04, 5681/05 and 5684/05) against the Russian Federation lodged with the Court under Article 34 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (“the Convention”) by nineteen Russian nationals listed in annex I (“the applicants”) on the respective dates indicated therein.
2. The applicants were represented by OMISSIS, a lawyer practising in Moscow. The Russian Government (“the Government”) were represented by Mr G. Matyushkin, the Representative of the Russian Federation at the European Court of Human Rights.
3. The applicants complained, in particular, that as result of aerial attacks on the town in which they lived, their family members had died, their lives had been put at risk and their houses and other property had been severely damaged. The applicants relied on Articles 2 and 8 of the Convention and Article 1 of Protocol No. 1.
4. On 29 August 2004, 1 September 2005 and 25 September 2008 respectively the applications were granted priority under Rule 41 of the Rules of Court.
5. On 25 September 2008 the Court decided to join the proceedings in the various applications (Rule 42 § 1) and to give notice of them to the Government. It also decided to rule on the admissibility and merits of the applications at the same time (Article 29 § 1).
6. The Government objected to the joint examination of the admissibility and merits of the applications. Having considered the Government’s objection, the Court dismissed it.
THE FACTS
I. THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE CASE
7. The applicants are residents of the town of Urus-Martan in the Chechen Republic.
A. The facts
8. At the material time all the applicants lived at various addresses in Urus-Martan.
9. The first applicant lived with her family in a block of flats at 224 Kalanchakskaya Street.
10. According to the second applicant, she had owned a private house at 15 Dostoyevskiy Street. In support of her submission, the second applicant adduced a certificate from the Urus-Martan Administration (aдминистрация г. Урус-Мартан), dated 2 December 2004, stating that she had lived on real estate measuring 428 square metres at 15 Dostoyevskiy Street. The certificate indicated that the property had been damaged as a result of the military actions in the Chechen Republic in 1999. It did not specify whether the second applicant had any property rights in respect of that estate.
11. According to the third applicant, she had lived with her husband and children in a private house at 25 Mayakovskiy Street. She adduced an extract from a housing inventory (похозяйственная книга) issued by the Urus-Martan Administration on 26 March 2009, stating that she had real estate at 25 Mayakovskiy Street and that the property, measuring 40 square meters, had been built or acquired in 1995.
12. According to the fourth applicant, he had lived with his family in a private house at 24 Mayakovskiy Street. He submitted a certificate from the Urus-Martan Administration, dated 3 July 2002, stating that he had lived on real estate measuring 365 square metres at 24 Mayakovskiy Street. The certificate indicated that the property had been damaged as a result of the military actions in the Chechen Republic in 1999. It did not specify whether the fourth applicant had any property rights in respect of that estate. The fourth applicant also adduced an extract from a housing inventory issued by the Urus-Martan Administration on 26 March 2009, stating that he had real estate at 27 Mayakovskiy Street and that the property, measuring 235 square meters, had been built or acquired in 1993.
13. According to the fifth applicant, he had lived with his family in a private house at 19 Dostoyevskiy Street. He submitted a certificate issued by the Urus-Martan Administration on an unspecified date in July 2002, stating that he had lived on real estate measuring 348 square metres at 19 Dostoyevskiy Street. The certificate indicated that the property had been damaged as a result of the military actions in the Chechen Republic in 1999. It did not specify whether the fifth applicant had any property rights in respect of that estate.
14. According to the sixth applicant, he had lived with his family in a private house at 32 Pervomayskaya Street. He submitted a certificate from the Urus-Martan Administration, dated 3 July 2002, stating that he had lived on real estate measuring 310 square metres at 32 Pervomayskaya Street. The certificate indicated that the property had been damaged as a result of the military actions in the Chechen Republic in 1999. It did not specify whether the sixth applicant had any property rights in respect of that estate. The sixth applicant also adduced an extract from a housing inventory issued by the Urus-Martan Administration on 27 March 2009, stating that he had real estate at 46 Pervomayskaya Street and that the property, measuring 300 square meters, had been built or acquired in 1978.
15. The seventh to thirteenth applicants are relatives. The seventh applicant is a brother of OMISSIS and the husband of the eighth applicant. The ninth applicant is OMISSIS’s widow, and the tenth and twelfth applicants are their children. The eleventh and thirteenth applicants are OMISSIS’s children from a previous marriage. According to them, they all lived at 24 Dostoyevskiy Street. The seventh applicant submitted a certificate from the Urus-Martan Administration, dated 3 July 2002, stating that property measuring 224 square metres at 24 Dostoyevskiy Street had been damaged as a result of the military actions in the Chechen Republic in 1999. The certificate did not specify whether the seventh applicant had any property rights in respect of that real estate. The seventh applicant also adduced an extract from a housing inventory issued by the Urus-Martan Administration on 26 March 2009, stating that he had real estate at 73 Pervomayskaya Street and that this property, measuring 32 square meters, had been built or acquired in 2001.
16. The fourteenth to nineteenth applicants are relatives. The fourteenth and fifteenth applicants are spouses, and the parents of OMISSIS and of the sixteenth and seventeenth applicants. The eighteenth applicant is the fourteenth applicant’s nephew, and the nineteenth applicant is the fourteenth applicant’s brother. According to them, they all lived in a private house at 23 Mayakovskiy Street. The fourteenth applicant submitted a certificate from the Urus-Martan Administration, dated 3 July 2002, stating that property measuring 428 square metres at 23 Mayakovskiy Street, had been damaged as a result of the military actions in the Chechen Republic in 1999. The certificate did not specify whether the fourteenth applicant had any property rights in respect of that real estate. The fourteenth applicant also adduced an extract from a housing inventory issued by the Urus-Martan Administration on 27 March 2009, which stated that he had real estate at 23 Mayakovskiy Street and that the property, measuring 60 square meters, had been built or acquired in 1985.
1. Attacks of 2 and 19 October 1999
(a) The applicants’ account
17. In early October 1999 the Russian Government commenced a counter-terrorism operation in the Chechen Republic.
18. On 2 October 1999 the federal military air forces attacked the town of Urus-Martan. One of the bombs hit the block of flats at 224 Kalanchakskaya Street, resulting in its complete destruction and human casualties. In particular, eight residents of the block of flats, including the first applicant’s husband, OMISSIS, and her brother, OMISSIS, were killed, and seven residents, including the first applicant and her three minor children were wounded.
19. On 8 October 1999 the first applicant and her three children were issued with a medical certificate confirming that they had sought and obtained medical assistance in connection with their multiple shrapnel wounds.
20. On 19 October 1999 Urus-Martan again came under aerial attack by the federal forces. The bombing resulted in the deaths of six people and injuries to sixteen people, including the tenth, sixteenth and eighteenth applicants, the destruction of thirteen houses and damage to twenty-seven others.
21. Those killed were:
(a) OMISSIS, born in 1942, the third applicant’s husband;
(b) OMISSIS, born in 1980, the fourth applicant’s son;
(c) OMISSIS, born in 1931, the fifth applicant’s mother;
(d) OMISSIS, born in 1974, the sixth applicant’s son;
(e) OMISSIS, born in 1951, a relative of the seventh to thirteenth applicants (see annex II);
(f) OMISSIS, born in 1974, a relative of the fourteenth to nineteenth applicants (see annex II).
22. The destroyed and damaged buildings included:
(a) the house at 15 Dostoyevskiy Street in which the second applicant lived;
(b) the house at 25 Mayakovskiy Street in which the third applicant lived;
(c) the house at 24 Mayakovskiy Street in which the fourth applicant lived;
(d) the house at 19 Dostoyevskiy Street in which the fifth applicant lived;
(e) the house at 32 Pervomayskaya Street in which the sixth applicant lived;
(f) the house at 24 Dostoyevskiy Street in which the seventh to thirteenth applicants lived; and
(g) the house at 23 Mayakovskiy Street in which the fourteenth to nineteenth applicants lived.
23. On 19 October 1999 the sixteenth and eighteenth applicants were admitted to Urus-Martan hospital in connection with shrapnel wounds sustained during the air strike. They both submitted medical certificates attesting to their injuries.
24. On 21 October 1999 the tenth applicant sought and obtained medical assistance in connection with a shrapnel wound to his right shoulder sustained on 19 October 1999. An entry to that effect was made on the same date in the register of urgent medical assistance at Urus-Martan hospital.
25. On 3 March 2000 a medical death certificate was issued in respect of the fourth applicant’s son. It stated that he had died on 19 October 1999 as a result of multiple shrapnel wounds. On the same date a similar certificate was issued to attest the death on 19 October 1999 of Yakub Israilov, relative of the fourteenth to nineteenth applicants, on account of multiple shrapnel wounds.
26. On 23 March 2001 the Urus-Martan Civil Registration Office issued a death certificate in respect of the sixth applicant’s son, stating that the latter had died in Urus-Martan on 19 October 1999.
27. In the period between 12 and 19 August 2002 the Urus-Martan Civil Registration Office issued death certificates in respect of the third applicant’s husband, the fourth applicant’s son, the fifth applicant’s mother, the seventh to thirteenth applicants’ relative and the fourteenth to nineteenth applicants’ relative. The place and date of their deaths were indicated as Urus-Martan, 19 October 1999.
(b) The Government’s account
28. According to the Government, pursuant to Presidential Decree no. 1255c of 23 September 1999, the Russian authorities launched a counter-terrorism operation in the Northern Caucasus for the disarmament and liquidation of illegal armed groups and restoration of constitutional order. The activity of the illegal armed groups was threatening public interests, State security, the territorial integrity of Russia and the lives, rights and freedoms of its citizens in the Chechen Republic and some other areas of the Northern Caucasus.
29. The operation was carried out by the federal armed forces. In late September 1999 the Group “West” was formed under the command of General Major Sh. In the same period the United Air Forces Group was created under the command of General Lieutenant G. In early October 1999 the federal forces commenced the counter-terrorism operation in the Chechen Republic.
30. In the Government’s submission, once the campaign in the Chechen Republic had commenced, the authorities, via the mass-media and leaflets, ordered the illegal fighters to stop their criminal activity and lay down arms and warned the local population of the possible use of aircraft and artillery in case of the organised resistance by the illegal armed groups to the federal forces. In response, the rebel fighters offered fierce armed resistance and organised fortified defence in local settlements, prohibiting the residents from leaving their houses and using them as human shields.
31. According to the Government, in the middle of October the town of Urus-Martan was occupied by Islamic extremists – Wahhabis – amounting to over 1,500 persons. In the Government’s submission, “almost no local residents remained in Urus-Martan as a result of the violence applied to them by the Wahhabis”. The latter based their headquarters in the town and significantly fortified it. In particular, they located their command points in the central part of the town, in school no. 7 and the building of the town administration and kept captives and local residents detained for refusal to collaborate with them in the basements of those buildings. In the Government’s submission, there was a camp of captives and slaves in the town. The illegal fighters also had a number of radio relays and television re-transmitters in the town, and they actively used that equipment for detecting movements of the federal forces. On the outskirts, the rebel fighters located their bases and a centre for subversive training, dug trenches and dugouts, filled pits with oil to be able to explode them on the approach of the federal forces, and organised numerous firing posts in residential buildings. The depth of defence extended to three to four quarters from the outskirts towards the town centre. According to the intelligence data, the extremists were not prepared to surrender and planned violent military actions against the federal troops.
32. In October 1999 the illegal armed groups led active military actions against the federal forces, using surface-to-air missile systems and large-calibre firearms against the federal aircraft. In particular, the extremists attacked the federal aircraft from the roofs of high-rise buildings in Urus-Martan with the result that a number of federal planes and helicopters were shot down and the pilots either killed or captured. Such incidents took place on 1, 3 and 4 October 1999. Also, according to the intelligence data, around 18 October 1999 a new group of approximately 300 fighters arrived at Urus-Martan as reinforcements.
33. In those circumstances, on 18 October 1999 General Major Sh. issued order no. 04, which in paragraph 2 prescribed that the federal aircraft resources be assigned for tactical support to the Group “West” and that the illegal fighters’ bases, ammunition depots and other important targets outside the reach of the federal artillery fire be destroyed by pinpoint aerial strikes.
34. On 19 October 1999, pursuant to that order, two military SU-24 M planes belonging to military unit no. 11731, each laden with eighteen high-explosive fragmentation aerial bombs of calibre 250-270 kg, at 1.30 p.m. and 1.31 p.m. carried out strikes on concentrations of illegal fighters one kilometre to the east of Urus-Martan. This decision was noted down on the tactical map of the United Air Forces Group of the United Group Alignment.
35. At the same time, the planes also carried out bomb strikes on the extremists’ bases in Urus-Martan, including those situated in school no. 7 and the building of the town administration. The planes also bombed rectangle no. 75443 on the eastern outskirts of Urus-Martan where, according to the Government, residential buildings prepared for long-term defence were situated. The residential quarter comprising Dostoyevskiy, Mayakovskiy and Pervomayskaya Streets fell within rectangle no. 75443 and the houses in which the second to nineteenth applicants lived were among the buildings hit by the federal bombers.
2. Official investigation into the attack of 2 October 1999
(a) Information received by the first applicant’s representative
36. It does not appear that the first applicant applied personally to law-enforcement agencies in connection with the attack of 2 October 1999. It can be ascertained from the documents submitted that Mr A. OMISSIS, a former resident of Urus-Martan and a lawyer practising in Moscow, complained to various public bodies about this incident on behalf of the first applicant and other victims of the attack of 2 October 1999. He described the circumstances of the strike, listed those killed and wounded and sought to have this incident duly investigated.
37. On 14 April 2001 the Prosecutor’s Office of the Urus-Martan District (прокуратура Урус-Мартановского района – “the district prosecutor’s office”) forwarded Mr OMISSIS’s complaint to the Temporary Office of the Interior of the Urus-Martan District (временный отдел внутренних дел Урус-Мартановского района – “the Urus-Martan VOVD”) for examination.
38. On 18 and 22 June 2001 respectively the Military Prosecutor’s Office of the North Caucasus Military Circuit (военная прокуратура Северо-Кавказского военного округа – “the circuit military prosecutor’s office”) transmitted OMISSIS’s complaint about the attack of 2 October 1999 to the military prosecutor’s office of military unit no. 20102 (военная прокуратура – войсковая часть 20102) for examination. The latter was requested to reply to OMISSIS by 10 July 2001. On 4 July 2001 the circuit military prosecutor’s office forwarded a duplicate of OMISSIS’s complaint to the military prosecutor’s office of military unit no. 20102. In a letter of 24 August 2001, similar to those of 22 June and 4 July 2001, the circuit military prosecutor’s office transmitted one more duplicate of OMISSIS’s complaint about the incident of 2 October 1999 to the military prosecutor’s office of military unit no. 20102, requesting it to give a reply by 24 September 2001.
39. In a letter of 25 July 2001 the Prosecutor’s Office of the Chechen Republic (прокуратура Чеченской Республики – “the republican prosecutor’s office”) informed OMISSIS that they had examined his complaint concerning an air strike of 2 October 1999 on a house at 224 Kalanchakskaya Street, and that on 23 April 2001 criminal proceedings had been brought under Article 167 § 2 of the Russian Criminal Code (aggravated deliberate destruction of, or damage to, property) in that connection. The letter further stated that the case file had been assigned the number 25268 and that the district prosecutor’s office was carrying out an investigation into the incident.
40. On 25 August 2001 the Urus-Martan VOVD notified OMISSIS that the district prosecutor’s office had opened two criminal cases in connection with an air strike of 2 October 1999 on Kalanchakskaya Street. In particular, on 21 July 2000 criminal case no. 24031 had been opened under Article 105 § 2 of the Russian Criminal Code (aggravated murder), and on 20 October 2000 criminal case no. 24050 had been opened under Article 167 § 2 of the Russian Criminal Code.
41. In a letter of 19 September 2001 the military prosecutor’s office of military unit no. 20102 informed OMISSIS that on 20 October 2000 the district prosecutor’s office had opened criminal case no. 24050 in connection with the air strike of 2 October 1999 on the southern outskirts of Urus-Martan, and that the investigation was currently pending. The letter also stated that there was no evidence of any involvement in the attack of servicemen from the Russian Ministry of Defence or personnel from the interior troops of the Russian Ministry of the Interior.
42. On 11 October 2001 the district prosecutor’s office informed OMISSIS that they had examined his complaints and, in the course of the investigation, would take into account his arguments concerning the actions of the federal servicemen during the attack of 2 October 1999. They also stated that progress reports on the course of the investigation could not be issued for private individuals.
43. On 8 November 2001 the commander of military unit no. 40911 replied to Mr OMISSIS’s complaint of 30 October 2001, stating, inter alia, that the block of flats at 224 Kalanchakskaya Street had not been listed among the targets selected for a strike by the federal air forces, that the latter had not received any orders to carry out such a strike on 2 October 1999, and that there was no available information as to whether there had been transgression by foreign military aircraft into the airspace of the Russian Federation in October 1999.
44. On 19 March 2004 the republican prosecutor’s office replied to Mr OMISSIS’s complaint about the district prosecutor’s office’s failure to act in respect of his requests to institute criminal proceedings in connection with the bomb strike of 2 October 1999. The letter stated, in particular, that on 29 July 2001 the Urus-Martan VOVD had instituted criminal proceedings under Article 167 § 2 of the Russian Criminal Code and that at present the investigation in that case was being conducted by the district prosecutor’s office. The letter invited Mr OMISSIS to send his queries concerning the course and results of the investigation to the district prosecutor’s office.
45. In a letter of 25 March 2004, upon Mr OMISSIS’s request, the Urus-Martan Administration furnished him with a notarised copy of eyewitness statements describing the events of 2 October 1999 and certificates confirming the destruction of property at 222 and 224 Kalanchakskaya Street.
46. On 5 April 2004 the first applicant was granted victims status in case no. 25268.
47. On 22 April 2004 the republican prosecutor’s office sent Mr OMISSIS a letter similar to that of 19 March 2004.
48. In a letter of 4 May 2004 the district prosecutor’s office informed Mr OMISSIS that, upon his complaint concerning the bomb strike of 2 October 1999, criminal proceedings in case no. 24031 had been instituted on 21 July 2000 under Articles 105 § 2 and 167 § 2 of the Russian Criminal Code, and that on 19 March 2003 this case had been transferred to the military prosecutor’s office of the United Group Alignment (военная прокуратура Объединенной группы войск) for further investigation.
49. In June 2004 Mr OMISSIS died and Ms L. OMISSISa, his daughter and the applicants’ representative in the proceedings before the Court, replaced him in representing the applicants, and in particular, the first applicant, before the domestic authorities. On an unspecified date she wrote a letter to the military prosecutor’s office of the United Group Alignment enquiring, inter alia, on behalf of the first applicant about the investigation into the attack of 2 October 1999. It is unclear whether any reply followed.
(b) Information submitted by the Government
50. According to the Government, the law-enforcement authorities of the Chechen Republic had been notified of the aerial attack of 2 October 1999 firstly on 23 September 2000, when a certain Mr E. filed a written complaint about the damage inflicted on his property during that incident to the district prosecutor’s office.
51. On 20 October 2000 the district prosecutor’s office, upon Mr E.’s complaint, instituted criminal proceedings under Article 167 § 2 of the Russian Criminal Code (aggravated deliberate destruction of, or damage to property) in connection with the infliction of damage on Mr E.’s housing and property as a result of a bomb strike on 2 October 1999 by “an unidentified plane”. The case file was given the number 24050.
52. On 20 December 2000 the district prosecutor’s office suspended the investigation in case no. 24050 for failure to establish those responsible. This decision was never challenged or quashed.
53. It appears that on 22 April 2001 a certain Mr K., apparently the first applicant’s relative, complained to the Urus-Martan VOVD about the destruction of his property and the deaths and injuries inflicted on several people as a result of the bomb strike of 2 October 1999. Upon this complaint, on 23 April 2001 the Urus-Martan VOVD instituted criminal proceedings under Article 167 § 2 of the Russian Criminal Code. The case file was assigned the number 25268.
54. In the Government’s submission, the preliminary investigation in case no. 25268 had been suspended and resumed on several occasions. On the latest occasion it was stayed on 1 September 2004 owing to a failure to establish those responsible. On 28 November 2008 this decision was set aside by a supervising prosecutor and the investigation in the said case was currently pending.
3. Official investigation into the attack of 19 October 1999
55. It does not appear that any of the applicants personally sought an investigation into the events of 19 October 1999. It can be ascertained from the adduced documents that it was Mr Circuito Militare who, on the applicants’ behalf, actively applied to various public bodies, describing in detail the consequences of the attack.
(a) Replies from military and administrative authorities
56. In the period between April 2000 and November 2001 Mr OMISSIS received a number of similar letters from the commander of the Troops of the North Caucasus Military Circuit (командующий войсками Северо-Кавказского военного округа), the Main Headquarters of the Russian Air Forces (Главный штаб Военно-воздушных сил), the acting commander-in-chief of the Air Forces (временно исполняющий обязанности Главнокомандующего Военно-воздушными силами) and the commander of military unit no. 40911. All of them denied any involvement of their personnel in the alleged attack of 19 October 1999 on Urus-Martan, stating that the federal aircraft had not conducted any flights in the vicinity of Urus-Martan or carried out any bomb-missile strikes in October 1999 or later, and that there was no available information as to whether there had been transgression by foreign military aircraft into the airspace of the Russian Federation in October 1999. According to the letters, air strikes were aimed only at targets which had been pre-selected and identified as military and were situated at a distance of at least two or three kilometres from inhabited areas, and that the accuracy of military aircraft excluded any possibility of accidental striking of civilian targets. As regards OMISSIS’s complaints about unexploded bombs found by the residents, he was invited to apply to “a competent body of the Ministry of the Interior” in the vicinity of his domicile.
57. A letter of an acting head of the Headquarters of military unit no. 40911 dated 15 February 2001 stated, in particular, that the aircraft of the Fourth Army of the Air Force and Counter Missile Defence (Четвертая Армия Военно-воздушных сил и противоракетной обороны) had not attacked Urus-Martan or launched an air strike on the residential quarter in question, since they had not possessed any information regarding any military objects in the said area which would warrant such a strike. The letter also stated that the information allegedly received by the first applicant from the military prosecutor’s office, to the effect that on 19 October 1999 two SU-25 military aeroplanes had launched an air strike on Urus-Martan, was inaccurate.
58. On 18 December 2001 the Office of the Plenipotentiary Representative of the Russian President in the Southern Federal Circuit (Аппарат Полномочного представителя Президента РФ в Южном федеральном округе) informed Mr OMISSIS that there had been no military actions in Urus-Martan in October 1999, that illegal armed formations had no military aircraft or bombs and missiles in their arsenal and that in October 1999 no transgression of foreign military aircraft into the airspace of the Russian Federation had been detected.
59. In a letter of 14 November 2002 the commander-in-chief of the Air Forces also informed Mr OMISSIS that, according to a register of combat air missions (журнал учетa боевых вылетов) and tactical map (карта ведения боевых действий), on 19 October 1999 aircraft of the Russian Air Forces had not carried out any bomb strikes at a distance of one kilometre from the south-eastern outskirts of Urus-Martan.
(b) Criminal proceedings
60. It appears that on 7 April 2000 the military prosecutor’s office of military unit no. 20102 decided to dispense with criminal proceedings in connection with the events of 19 October 1999, stating that there was no evidence of involvement of the federal military in the imputed offence, and that the alleged casualties and damage could have been inflicted by fighters of illegal armed formations.
61. On 21 July 2000 the republican prosecutor’s office instituted criminal proceedings in connection with the aerial attack of 19 October 1999 on Urus-Martan, the killing of residents and the destruction of property, under Articles 105 § 2 (a) and (e) (killing of two or more persons committed in a socially dangerous manner) and 167 § 2 of the Russian Criminal Code. The case file was assigned the number 24031 and sent to the district prosecutor’s office for investigation.
62. Between 21 July 2000 and 7 March 2001 the criminal proceedings were suspended and resumed on three occasions (see paragraphs 104-106 below).
63. On 29 April 2001 the district prosecutor’s office referred the file in case no. 24031 to the military prosecutor of military unit no. 20102 for further investigation (see paragraph 108 below). The latter sent the case file to the republican prosecutor’s office on 11 May 2001 (see paragraph 109 below).
64. On 24 May 2001, in the context of civil proceedings for compensation instituted before the Basmannyy District Court of Moscow by Mr OMISSIS in respect of his destroyed house, the district prosecutor’s office furnished the court with a report on the results of the investigation in criminal case no. 24031. The document stated that on 19 October 1999 an unidentified aircraft had carried out a strike on Urus-Martan, with the result that six residents had died, sixteen had been wounded, thirteen private houses had been destroyed, and twenty-seven houses had been damaged. The republican prosecutor’s office had instituted criminal proceedings in this connection on 21 July 2000, in case no. 24031. The events of 19 October 1999 were confirmed by forty-eight witnesses, listed in the report, and by other witnesses, a report on the inspection of the scene of the incident and another on the forensic examination, as well as by other evidence, such as fragments of exploded aerial bombs seized from the territory of Mr OMISSIS’s household and a video-recording of the site of the incident, dated 10 November 1999. Finally, the report stated that, given that the illegal armed formations had no aircraft, the criminal case had been sent on three occasions for further investigation to the military prosecutor’s office, which had returned it on various grounds; this had protracted the investigation and made it difficult to identify the pilots involved in the attack of 19 October 1999.
65. On 6 June 2001 the investigation was resumed and then stayed on 6 July 2001 (see paragraphs 110-111 below).
66. By a decision of 18 March 2002 the circuit military prosecutor’s office refused Mr OMISSIS’s request to have criminal proceedings instituted against senior officers from the General Headquarters of the Russian Armed Forces and the Main Headquarters of the Russian Air Forces, who had allegedly provided him with false information concerning the attack of 19 October 1999. The decision referred to statements by a number of officers, who had claimed that Mr OMISSIS’s allegations concerning the bombing of Urus-Martan had been thoroughly investigated on several occasions and had proved to be unsubstantiated. In particular, one of the officers stated that he had personally examined the register of combat air missions and tactical map for the relevant period and ascertained that there had been no air strikes on the town of Urus-Martan on 19 October 1999. However, at 1.30 p.m. on that date high-explosive aerial bombs of calibre 250 kg had been launched against a group of fighters located one kilometre from the south-eastern outskirts of Urus-Martan. The decision concluded that since it had been established that the officers had provided Mr OMISSIS with full and true information, there were no constituent elements of a crime in their actions.
67. On the same date the circuit military prosecutor’s office quashed the decision taken by the military prosecutor of military unit no. 20102 on 7 April 2000. The circuit military prosecutor’s office stated, in particular, that the decision of 7 April 2000 had been based on explanations by the Head of the Headquarters of the Group “West”, Colonel K., and an extract from the register of combat air missions, indicating coordinates which had been attacked by a pair of SU-25 planes on 19 October 1999 and which had been situated at a distance of twenty-seven kilometres from Urus-Martan. The decision of 18 March 2002 went on to say that an inquiry carried out in connection with Mr OMISSIS’s complaint against senior high-ranking officers from the General Headquarters of the Russian Armed Forces and the Main Headquarters of the Russian Air Forces had established that no air strikes on the town of Urus-Martan had been planned or carried out on 19 October 1999, and that the closest area attacked by a pair of federal planes on that date had been located one kilometre from Urus-Martan, in an area where members of illegal armed formations had been stationed. The decision concluded that in view of discrepancies in the information obtained, the inquiry could not be said to have been complete, and that therefore the decision of 7 April 2000 should be set aside.
68. On 25 August 2002 the district prosecutor’s office resumed the proceedings in case no. 24031. Thereafter in the period between 25 September 2002 and 18 April 2003 the investigation was stayed and resumed eight times (see paragraphs 113, 115-122 below).
69. On 17 November 2003 the investigation into the attack of 19 October 2003 had been terminated with reference to the absence of constituent elements of a crime in the actions of high-ranking military officers (see paragraph 125 below).
70. It appears that Mr OMISSIS then unsuccessfully applied to prosecutors at various levels in an attempt to obtain a copy of the decision of 17 November 2003.
71. In a letter of 15 March 2004 the military prosecutor’s office of the United Group Alignment informed Mr OMISSIS that the criminal proceedings in connection with the bomb strike of 19 October 1999 had been discontinued on 17 November 2003 and that a letter informing him of that decision had been sent to him on the same date.
72. On 26 March 2004 the military prosecutor’s office of the United Group Alignment further wrote to Mr OMISSIS that the decision to discontinue the criminal proceedings in connection with the attack of 19 October 1999 had been lawful and well-founded, as it had been established during the investigation that the federal aircraft had bombed fortified command points, bases and ammunition depots of the illegal armed groups rather than any residential areas of Urus-Martan.
73. On 10 May 2004 Mr OMISSIS complained to the Supreme Court of the Chechen Republic about the refusal of the military prosecutor’s office of the United Group Alignment to furnish him with a copy of the decision of 17 November 2003, which prevented him from appealing against that decision in court. It is unclear whether this complaint was examined.
74. On 7 June 2004 the Main Military Prosecutor’s Office (Главная военная прокуратура) transmitted Mr OMISSIS’s complaints about the prosecutors to the military prosecutor of the United Group Alignment for examination.
75. On 12 July 2004 the military prosecutor of the United Group Alignment informed Mr OMISSIS that the case file of the investigation opened into the attack of 19 October 1999 on Urus-Martan had been classified as secret, and that it was therefore impossible to provide him with any materials from the file. It also followed from the letter that the criminal proceedings had been discontinued, that Mr OMISSIS was entitled to institute civil proceedings, and that the case file could be submitted to a court upon the latter’s order.
76. In two letters of 31 July 2004 the military prosecutor’s office of the United Group Alignment informed Mr OMISSIS, in reply to his complaints of 26 April and 26 May 2004, that criminal proceedings instituted in connection with the aerial attack on Urus-Martan on 19 October 1999 had been discontinued on 17 November 2003 in the absence of the constituent elements of a crime in the attack, and that the criminal case file was classified as secret.
77. On 2 August 2004 the military prosecutor’s office of the United Group Alignment replied to Mr OMISSIS’s complaint of 26 May 2004, stating that the preliminary investigation in case no. 34/00/0008-03 had established that in October 1999 the town of Urus-Martan had been occupied by Islamic extremists, amounting to over 1,500 persons, who had based their headquarters in the town, had fortified it and had not been prepared to surrender, and that in such circumstances the federal command had taken a decision to carry out pinpoint bomb strikes against the bases of illegal fighters in Urus-Martan.
78. In a letter of 10 August 2004 the military prosecutor’s office of the United Group Alignment confirmed, in reply to Mr OMISSIS’s complaint of 20 April 2004, that the criminal proceedings concerning the attack of 19 October 1999 on Urus-Martan had been terminated. The letter also stated that the case-file materials had been classified as secret.
79. On an unspecified date Ms L. OMISSISa, who replaced Mr OMISSIS in representing the applicants before the domestic authorities, wrote a letter to the military prosecutor of the United Group Alignment (военный прокурор Объединенной группы войск) inquiring, inter alia, on behalf of the second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, ninth and fifteenth applicants about the investigation into the attack of 19 October 1999. It is unclear whether any reply followed.
(c) Decisions granting victim status to the applicants
80. At various times the district prosecutor’s office granted victim status in case no. 24031 to some of the applicants. In particular, the second applicant was declared a victim on 20 August 2002 and a civil claimant on 21 January 2003, the third applicant was declared a victim on 8 September 2000 and on 29 October 2002 she was declared a civil claimant in the criminal proceedings, the fourth applicant was declared a victim on 14 September 2000, the fifth applicant was declared a victim and a civil claimant on 7 September 2000 and 17 September 2002 respectively, the sixth applicant was declared a victim and a civil claimant on 8 September 2000 and 18 September 2002 respectively, the seventh applicant was declared a victim and a civil claimant on 16 September 2000 and 17 September 2002 respectively, the ninth applicant was declared a victim on 7 September 2000, the tenth applicant was granted the victim status on 11 September 2000, the fourteenth applicant was declared a victim and a civil claimant on 8 September 2000 and 17 September 2002 respectively, the sixteenth applicant was granted the victims status on 19 September 2000, the eighteenth applicant was declared a victim on 13 September 2000 and the nineteenth applicant was granted victim status on 14 September 2000.
81. By a decision of 28 October 2002 the district prosecutor’s office refused Mr OMISSIS’s requests that victim status be granted to the tenth, eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth applicants, stating that under the relevant legal provisions, such status could be granted only to one of the relatives of a deceased person, and that earlier, namely on 7 September 2000, the ninth applicant had already been declared a victim in connection with the death of Mr OMISSIS.
4. Property
82. None of the applicants who lived in the houses that were destroyed or damaged during the attack of 19 October 1999 brought civil proceedings for compensation. In their submission, this remedy was ineffective, as on 11 May and 4 October 2001 respectively the domestic courts at two levels of jurisdiction had dismissed as unfounded Mr OMISSIS’s claim for compensation for his private house, which was destroyed in that attack (see OMISSIS and Others v. Russia (dec.), no. 1503/02, 25 March 2010).
B. Documents submitted by the Government
83. In December 2006, following a communication to them of an application in the case of OMISSIS and Others (no. 1503/02) which concerned the federal aerial attack of 19 October 1999 on Urus-Martan, the Government produced a copy of the investigation file in case no. 34/00/0008-03 (initially no. 24031) concerning those events. The materials ran to approximately 1,200 pages and seemed to be a copy of the major part of the case file, if not the entire file.
84. In May 2007, when the present application was communicated to them, the Government were invited to produce copies of the investigation files in the criminal cases opened in connection with the aerial attack of 2 October 1999 on Urus-Martan. In reply, the Government submitted documents running to 28 pages from the investigation file in case no. 24050, materials running to 31 pages from the investigation file in case no. 25268 and documents running to 528 pages in case no. 34/00/0008-03 representing part of the materials submitted in the case of OMISSIS and Others. They refused to produce the entire files, stating that it would be inappropriate to do so, given that under Article 161 of the Russian Code of Criminal Procedure, disclosure of the documents was contrary to the interests of the investigation and could entail a breach of the rights of the participants in the criminal proceedings. The Government also submitted that they had taken into account the possibility of requesting confidentiality, but noted that the Court provided no guarantees that once in receipt of the investigation files the applicants or their representative would not disclose the materials in question to the public. According to the Government, in the absence of any possible sanctions for the applicants in the event of their disclosure of confidential information and materials, there were no guarantees as to their compliance with the Convention and the Rules of Court. In the Government’s submission, given the large number of applications concerning the events in the Chechen Republic during the counter-terrorism operation, the disclosure of the documents from criminal investigation files would be highly detrimental to the interests of the State and the participants in the criminal proceedings.
85. The materials produced, in so far as relevant, may be summarised as follows.
1. Documents from the investigation file in case no. 24050
86. By a decision 20 October 2000 the district prosecutor’s office instituted criminal proceedings upon a complaint of Mr E. about the destruction of his property as a result of a bomb strike on Urus-Martan on 2 October 1999. The proceedings were brought under Article 167 § 2 (aggravated deliberate destruction of, or damage to property) of the Russian Criminal Code.
87. It is clear from the materials submitted that it was only the destruction of Mr E.’s house and property that was being investigated in the context of those proceedings.
88. In a report of 18 June 2001 an expert confirmed that metal fragments found at the scene of the incident at Mr E.’s destroyed house were pieces of an aerial bomb that had exploded.
2. Documents from the investigation file in case no. 25268
89. By a decision of 23 April 2001 the Urus-Martan VOVD instituted criminal proceedings under Article 167 § 2 of the Russian Criminal Code upon a complaint of Mr K. about a federal aerial bomb strike on Urus-Martan on 2 October 1999 resulting in the destruction of two properties and inflicting of deaths on eight persons and injuries on seven persons.
90. By a decision of 8 May 2001 the Urus-Martan VOVD ordered the transfer of case no. 25268 to a military prosecutor’s office for further investigation. The decision reiterated that on 2 October 1999, during a bomb attack by the federal air forces, two houses belonging to Mr Kh. OMISSIS and Mr A. OMISSIS had been destroyed, eight persons had died and seven had been wounded.
91. In a decision of 19 May 2001 the republican prosecutor’s office set aside the decision of 8 May 2001, stating that it was premature since the materials of the file contained no conclusive evidence of the federal armed forces’ involvement in the incident of 2 October 1999. The decision ordered that the case file be transferred to the district prosecutor’s office for investigation.
92. A report of 5 June 2001 reflected the results of an inspection of the scene of the incident at 224 and 226 Kalanchakskaya Street. A brief report attested that the houses were partly destroyed and stated that no photographs had been taken, or any objects found or seized during the inspection.
93. A decision of 23 June 2001 ordered that the criminal proceedings in case no. 25268 be suspended. The decision reiterated that on 2 October 1999, during a bomb attack by the federal air forces, two houses belonging to Mr Kh. OMISSIS and Mr A. OMISSIS had been destroyed, eight persons had died and seven had been wounded. It then stated that the term of preliminary investigation had expired and that all possible investigative actions had been performed.
94. In a decision of 29 July 2001 a supervising prosecutor ordered the resumption of the investigation. The decision required the investigating authorities to establish and question the victims of the attack, to find and seize fragments of bombs, and to order and carry out expert examinations.
95. A report of 7 August 2001 reflected the results of another inspection of the scene of the incident. It appears that during that inspection metal fragments – supposedly those of an explosive device – were found and seized.
96. By a decision of 15 August 2001 the district prosecutor’s office ordered an expert examination of the metal fragments found on 7 August 2001 at the scene of the incident with a view to establishing whether they were pieces of an aerial bomb. It is unclear whether this expert examination was carried out and, if so, what its results were, in the absence of any documents to that effect.
97. It appears that at some point the criminal proceedings were discontinued and then resumed, as by a decision of 1 April 2004 an investigator of the district prosecutor’s office took up the case.
98. A decision of 5 April 2004 granted victim status to the first applicant in connection with the death of her husband, Adlan OMISSIS, and injuries sustained by her and her children as a result of the bomb attack by the federal air forces on Urus-Martan on 2 October 1999. The first applicant was interviewed by the investigating authorities on the same date.
99. No documents concerning the period after April 2004 have been submitted to the Court.
3. Documents from the investigation file in case no. 34/00/0008-03
(a) Documents relating to the conduct of the investigation and informing the applicants of its progress
100. By a decision of 21 July 2000 the republican prosecutor’s office instituted criminal proceedings in connection with Mr OMISSIS’s complaint concerning a bomb strike on a residential quarter of Urus-Martan on 19 October 1999, resulting in six persons killed, sixteen wounded, thirteen houses destroyed and twenty-seven damaged. The proceedings were brought under Articles 105 § 2 (aggravated murder) and 167 § 2 (aggravated deliberate destruction of, or damage to property) of the Russian Criminal Code, and the case was transferred to the district prosecutor’s office for investigation. The case file was given the number 24031. A letter of the same date informed Mr OMISSIS of the aforementioned decision, without indicating its date.
101. In a letter of 31 August 2000 the republican prosecutor’s office drew the attention of the district prosecutor’s office to “unprecedented procrastination” of the investigation in case no. 24031. The letter stated, in particular, that for a period of a month the investigator in charge had not performed any investigative action, and had not questioned victims or witnesses. It instructed the district prosecutor’s office to revive the investigation and to establish the circumstances of the case. In particular, it was necessary to interview all the victims of the bomb strike in question, to grant them victim status and declare them civil claimants; to question the relatives of those deceased and to grant them victim status; to inspect the scene of the incident using photograph and video devices, and to establish and interview eyewitnesses of the events in question.
102. On an unspecified date in October 2000 the investigator in charge sought the competent prosecutor’s authorisation for extension of the term of the preliminary investigation. The relevant decision listed the findings made by the investigation up to that time. It referred, in particular, to statements of a number of residents of the quarter that had come under attack on 19 October 1999 who, being eyewitnesses to the incident, insisted that the military planes had been flying at a low altitude and that the pilots could therefore have clearly seen that they were targeting a residential quarter. The decision further referred to the residents’ statements to the effect that no illegal fighters had ever lived in their quarter and that property occupied by the rebel fighters had been located on the outskirts of Urus-Martan and by that time had already been hit by federal bombers, and that therefore there had been no reason to bomb a residential quarter inhabited by civilians. The decision went on to note that during the inspection of the scene of the incident large metal fragments of aerial bombs had been found and that, in addition, unexploded bombs were still lying in the courtyards of a number of properties. The decision stated that the evidence obtained proved the involvement of the federal air forces in the attack of 19 October 1999, this finding being confirmed by eyewitness statements, photographs and video-recordings, evaluation reports attesting to the inflicted damage and a report on the inspection of the scene of the incident.
103. In a letter of October 2000 (the exact date is illegible), the military prosecutor’s office of military unit no. 20102 returned the case file to the republican prosecutor’s office stating that a number of formal requirements had not been complied with. The latter referred the case file to the district prosecutor’s office on 30 October 2000 ordering it to remedy the defects.
104. A decision of 21 January 2001 by the district prosecutor’s office ordered the suspension of the criminal proceedings. It stated that all possible investigative measures had been performed but it had not been possible to establish who was responsible.
105. In a decision of 7 February 2001 a supervising prosecutor set aside the decision of 21 January 2001 as unfounded and premature. It ordered that the investigation be resumed, that eyewitnesses to the attack be questioned and that the results of medical forensic examinations and ballistic tests be included in the case file.
106. In a decision of 7 March 2001 the district prosecutor’s office ordered a suspension of the criminal proceedings in case no. 24031, stating that all investigative measures indicated in the supervising prosecutor’s decision of 7 February 2001 had been carried out, but it had not been possible to establish who was responsible.
107. In a letter of 14 April 2001 the district prosecutor’s office replied to Mr OMISSIS that his request for certified copies of the decisions instituting criminal proceedings in case no. 24031 and extending the term of preliminary investigation “had no basis in law” and therefore could not be granted. The letter also indicated that the term of the preliminary investigation into the said criminal case had been extended until 21 January 2001 and that on 10 October 2000 it had been sent to a military prosecutor’s office, which had returned it on 26 October 2000 because of procedural defects. The letter went on to say that ballistic tests had been ordered in the case on 16 November 2000; however, those tests had not yet been carried out. It then noted that on 21 January 2001 the investigation had been suspended, then resumed on 7 February 2001 and again stayed on 7 March 2001. The letter also assured Mr OMISSIS that his requests in the present case would be included in the case file and taken into consideration during further investigation.
108. In a decision of 29 April 2001 the district prosecutor’s office ordered that the case file be transferred to the military prosecutor’s office of military unit no. 20102 for further investigation. The decision stated that it had been established that the destruction of houses and other property and the deaths and injuries of residents of Urus-Martan on 19 October 1999 had been due to an aerial strike by aircraft of the federal armed forces. This fact had been confirmed by witnesses and victims and by the inspection of the site of the incident, where fragments of aerial bombs and missiles had been found. The involvement of federal military personnel in that attack was obvious, since the illegal armed formations had no aircraft, and the case file therefore had to be transferred to the military prosecutor for further investigation, in order to identify the military unit and military personnel who had committed the offence in question.
109. In a letter of 11 May 2001 the military prosecutor’s office of military unit no. 20102 transmitted the case file to the republican prosecutor’s office. The letter stated that the district prosecutor’s office’s conclusion that on 19 October 1999 Urus-Martan had come under a bomb strike was based on contradictory witness statements and had no objective confirmation. The letter pointed out, in particular, that whilst some of the witnesses had stated that they had seen planes that had allegedly carried out the strike, some other witnesses had indicated that they had not been able to see planes as on the day in question it had been cloudy and misty. Moreover, according to the letter, there were also discrepancies in witness statements concerning the overall number of planes that had allegedly participated in the attack and their colour. The letter went on to note that the origin of the ammunition fragments seized from two of the properties that had allegedly come under the attack on 19 October 1999 (see paragraph 133 below) had not been established and it had not been ascertained how it was possible for those fragments still to be found a year after the attack. At the end, the letter stated that at the same time the command of the United Groups Alignment and the Russian Ministry of Defence had reported that on 19 October 1999 the federal aircraft had not carried out any strikes on Urus-Martan.
110. By a decision of 6 June 2001 the district prosecutor’s office resumed the investigation.
111. A decision of 6 July 2001 ordered that criminal proceedings be suspended owing to the failure to establish the alleged perpetrators and that the case file be transferred to the military prosecutor’s office. The decision was similar to that of 29 April 2001. It stated, in particular, that the involvement of the federal aircraft in the attack had been established by eyewitness statements and results of ballistics tests, which had confirmed that fragments found on the scene of the incident had been those of artillery shells and aerial bombs. It also stated that an unexploded aerial bomb had remained on the ground near the house at 15 Dostoyevskiy Street since the attack of 19 October 1999.
112. In a letter of 15 May 2002 the republican prosecutor’s office returned case no. 24031 to the district prosecutor’s office for investigation. The letter stated that upon the study of the case-file materials it had been established that the investigation had been carried out with flagrant violations of the procedural law, with the result that the military prosecutor’s office had refused to take over the case. The letter then listed in detail the procedural breaches during the inspection of the scene of the incident and the seizure and examination of ammunition fragments found there and stated that as a result of those breaches the seized splinters could not be admitted in evidence. The letter further noted that to date no medical forensic examinations had been conducted in respect of those deceased and wounded in the attack of 19 October 1999, that those who had suffered pecuniary damage had not been declared civil claimants and that contradictions in eyewitness statements had not yet been resolved. The letter also stated that although the case had repeatedly been returned to the district prosecutor’s office because of all those shortcomings, they had not been remedied.
113. By a decision of 25 August 2002 the district prosecutor’s office resumed the criminal proceedings.
114. In a letter of 25 August 2002 the district prosecutor’s office forwarded to Mr OMISSIS certified copies of decisions granting victim status to the second, fourth to seventh and fourteenth applicants and a certified copy of a decision declaring the second applicant a civil claimant. The letter also informed Mr OMISSIS that none of the remaining applicants had ever sought to be declared civil claimants in that case.
115. A decision of 25 September 2002 ordered that the investigation be stayed. The decision stated briefly that all possible investigative measures had been taken but that it had not been possible to establish the alleged perpetrators.
116. By a decision of 1 October 2002 the district prosecutor’s office resumed the investigation. The decision stated that, as requested by Mr OMISSIS, it was necessary to question as witnesses a number of high-ranking military officers who had participated in the counter-terrorism operation in the Chechen Republic.
117. A decision of 1 November 2002 ordered the suspension of the criminal proceedings. It stated that after the reopening of the investigation on 1 October 2002, the investigating authorities had sent a request to interview a number of high-ranking officers, carried out an expert’s examination of an orchard that one of the residents had lost during the attack in question and declared two other persons victims. Therefore, according to the decision, all possible investigative actions had been taken.
118. A decision of 10 January 2003 set aside the decision of 1 November 2002 as unfounded, stating that the instructions of the republican prosecutor’s office to remedy the procedural breaches had not been complied with. In particular, there had been breaches of procedural law in the seizure of ammunition fragments, which were therefore inadmissible evidence. Moreover, medical forensic examinations of those deceased and wounded had not been conducted and a number of persons who had suffered losses as a result of the incident had not been declared civil claimants in the case. Also, the contradictions in eyewitnesses’ descriptions of the attack had not been resolved. The decision thus ordered that the proceedings be resumed.
119. A decision of 10 February 2003 ordered the suspension of the criminal proceedings. It listed investigative measures taken in January 2003, including the seizure of splinters, ordering their expert examination, granted the status of civil claimant to the victims and concluded that all the investigative actions that had been possible in the absence of those responsible had been carried out.
120. A decision of 15 February 2003 ordered that the investigation be resumed. The decision indicated that a number of investigative actions should be carried out in the case, and namely medical forensic examination of the deceased and wounded. In a letter of February 2003 (the exact date is unclear), Mr OMISSIS was informed of the recent developments in the case.
121. By a decision of 15 March 2003 the criminal proceedings in case no. 24031 were adjourned owing to the failure to establish the alleged perpetrators.
122. By a decision of 18 April 2003 a prosecutor of the military prosecutor’s office of the United Group Alignment ordered that the investigation be resumed. It can be ascertained that at this stage the case was assigned the number 34/00/0008-03.
123. On the same date the military prosecutor’s office of the United Group Alignment informed the district prosecutor’s office of this decision and invited it to notify those declared victims of the reopening of the case. In another letter of the same date the military prosecutor’s office of the United Group Alignment apprised Mr OMISSIS of its decision to resume the investigation.
124. In a decision of 18 April 2003 the investigator in charge sought the authorisation of a competent prosecutor to extend the term of preliminary investigation until 18 August 2003. The decision stated that a large number of investigative actions should be taken. In particular, it was necessary to question high-ranking officers in command of the counter-terrorism operation in the Chechen Republic; to identify and interview an officer in charge of the operation in Urus-Martan on 19 October 1999, an officer in command of the pilots who had carried out bomb strikes on Urus-Martan on the date in question and the pilots themselves; to examine and, if necessary, seize relevant military documents, including a register of combat air missions and tactical maps; to examine the materials of inquiries carried out by the military authorities in connection with Mr OMISSIS’s complaints about the attack; to conduct expert examinations, including a medical forensic examination of those deceased and wounded in the incident under investigation, and to perform other necessary investigative actions.
125. A decision of 17 November 2003 terminated the criminal proceedings in case no. 34/00/0008-03. It provided a description of the situation in the Chechen Republic and, more specifically, in the vicinity of Urus-Martan in late September – October 1999 and an account of the aerial attack of 19 October 1999 identical to those submitted by the Government (see paragraphs 28-35 above).
126. The decision referred, in particular, to witness interviews of Mr Af. and Mr Chay., intelligence officers, who had carried out reconnaissance in Urus-Martan in the relevant period. They both stated that the town had been occupied by the Wahhabis, who had significantly fortified it and prepared for long-term defence. According to them, the depth of defence extended to three to four quarters from the outskirts towards the town centre; the fighters had dug trenches and dugouts, filled pits with oil t