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Europe | 115. The KIA governor was ordered to make provision for the applicant to have his own television in his cell; the applicant's other requests – including a request to be transferred to the Netherlands (the Realm in |
Urus-Martan District | 16. In the morning of 12 February 2001 the applicant went to the Urus-Martan District military commander’s office. During the lunch hour she heard her husband singing a prayer. The voice was coming from the second floor of the building of the |
the Southern District of Florida | 12. On 19 August 2009, with a view to identifying the taxpayers in question, the Federal Council (Government) of the Swiss Confederation and the United States of America (“the United States”) concluded an “Agreement concerning the request by the Internal Revenue Service of the United States relating to the Swiss company UBS SA” (“Agreement 09”) ...
Under the first Article of Agreement 09 Switzerland undertook to deal with the US request for mutual assistance concerning UBS SA’s American customers in accordance with the criteria laid down in the Appendix to that Agreement and, moreover, in conformity with the Convention of 2 October 1996 between Switzerland and the United States on double taxation (CDI-US 96) ...
Drawing on those criteria, the parties to Agreement 09 considered that the request for mutual assistance concerned “some 4,450 open or closed accounts”.
Switzerland further undertook to set up a “special task force” enabling the Swiss Federal Tax Authority (AFC) to reach its final decisions in the framework of the mutual assistance request within a specific timescale.
In return, the Agreement provided that the United States and UBS SA would submit to the US District Court for |
premises | 5. According to the official documents, in connection with an ongoing investigation against an illegal armed organisation, namely the PKK (the Workers’ Party of Kurdistan), the police received information that the second applicant, a suspected member of that organisation, had arrived from the rural area in order to conduct activities in cities on behalf of the organisation. Having established the second applicant’s address in Diyarbakır, the police conducted a search of the |
Staropromyslovskiy | 30. In February 2001 Human Rights Watch issued a Memorandum on Domestic Prosecutions for Violations of International Human Rights and Humanitarian Law in Chechnya, in which it reported a lack of progress in the investigation into the attack on the applicant and into other killings committed in the |
the Urus‑Martan District | 14. On 16 October 2001 the Town Court held a hearing in the applicant’s case. According to the record of the hearing, the applicant gave the following explanation as regards his failure to comply with the time‑limits:
“I applied to a court only on 9 October 2001 as I did not know that law established the time-limits for applying to a court. I request the court to reinstate the time-limits for applying to a court and to recover salary arrears ...”
The defendant accepted the applicant’s salary claims only for the period between June and August 1996 and submitted that the applicant would receive the arrears as soon as funds were available.
On the same date the Town Court adopted a judgment in the case, which in its relevant part provided as follows:
“... [Mr Itslayev] applied to the court only on 9 October 2001 because he did not know that law established the time-limits for applying to a court and he requests the court to reinstate the time-limit for applying to the court and to recover salary arrears ...
The defendant’s representative submitted that ... the Administration of the Urus‑Martan District agreed to pay the applicant salary arrears for the period between June and August 1996 as soon as the funds were available.
Having regard to the parties’ submissions and having read the materials of the case, the court comes to the following conclusion:
... According to Article 211 of the Labour Code of the Russian Federation an application concerning the settlement of a labour dispute is to be lodged with a district court within three months of the date when an employee knew or should have known about the violation of his right. In violation of this statutory provision, the applicant did not apply to a court between December 2000, when the courts started functioning in Chechnya, and 9 October 2001. The court considers that the applicant’s arguments that he had missed the time-limits because the head of administration of |
the Vostochniy District | 18. In his report of 23 September 1999 an acting head of the Interior Department of the Altayskiy Region concluded that Mr T. had acted in compliance with the rules governing the conduct of the police. The use of weapon had been justified by the circumstances and lawful in accordance with section 15 (1)(2) of the Police Act. On the other hand, he found that the casualty had occurred as a result of negligence on the part of the officers on duty, Major D. and Major P., who had not recorded the information received from Mr T., had not informed their superiors about the on-going incident and had not sent reinforcements to Mr T. He ordered that Major D. be demoted and Major P. be reprimanded. He further reprimanded the head of the police station of |
Europe | 10. On 17 January 2006 the Regional Court rejected an objection by the applicant company. It held that section 116 of the German Code of Civil Procedure exhaustively determined which legal persons were entitled to receive legal aid, and it was not for the court to extend this provision to include companies based outside |
the Avtozavodskoy District | 74. The decision also referred to police officer K.O., who had stated, in particular, that he had arrived at the Ilyinogorsk police station following a telephone call from an officer on duty, B., about the applicant’s apprehension. K. had told K.O. about the circumstances of the applicant’s apprehension. In particular, K. had seen, in the garage being opened by the applicant, some things that he had collected and was preparing to carry away. B. had said that the applicant had had a bunch of metal picklocks on him. K.O. had believed that the applicant had been involved in the series of garage thefts. The type of lock on the garage which the applicant had opened was the same as those on the other garages from which thefts had been committed. He had taken the applicant to his office and questioned him until 3 a.m. No one else had been present in his office. The applicant had stated that he had had no previous criminal convictions. K.O. had phoned the information centre of the Nizhniy Novgorod regional police department, which had informed him that the applicant had previously been convicted of garage thefts in |
the Staropromyslovskiy District of Grozny | 15. In support of her statements, the applicant submitted her own statement dated 22 February 2010; a statement by Ms G.P. dated 29 January 2004; a statement by Mr S.Kh. dated 1 March 2010; a statement by Ms Z.T. dated 1 February 2004, a copy of the witness statement by the applicant’s mother Yakhita Inderbiyeva dated 5 July 2000 and copies of other documents received from the authorities. The applicant also enclosed a Human Rights Watch report “Civilian Murders in the Staropromyslovskiy District of Grozny” of February 2000 and a sketched map of the district indicating the place where the bodies of her sisters had been discovered. The applicant also referred to the Court’s judgments Khashiyev and Akayeva v. Russia (nos. 57942/00 and 57945/00, 24 February 2005), Makhauri v. Russia (no. 58701/00, 4 October 2007), Tangiyeva v. Russia (no. 57935/00, 29 November 2007), Goncharuk v. Russia (no. 58643/00, 4 October 2007), and Goygova v. Russia (no. 74240/01, 4 October 2007), and the witness statements contained therein, stating that the events she complained of had been examined by the Court in those judgements and that they concerned the same events which had taken place in |
Europe | 7. In March 2004 the applicant association planned to start an advertising campaign under the head “The Holocaust on your plate”. The intended campaign, which had been carried out in a similar way in the United States of America, consisted of a number of posters, each of which bore a photograph of concentration camp inmates along with a picture of animals kept in mass stocks, accompanied by a short text. One of the posters showed a photograph of emaciated, naked concentration camp inmates alongside a photograph of starving cattle under the heading “walking skeletons”. Other posters showed a photograph of piled up human dead bodies alongside a photograph of a pile of slaughtered pigs under the heading “final humiliation” and of rows of inmates lying on stock beds alongside rows of chicken in laying batteries under the heading “if animals are concerned, everybody becomes a Nazi”. Another poster depicting a starving, naked male inmate alongside a starving cattle bore the title “The Holocaust on your plate” and the text “Between 1938 and 1945, 12 million human beings were killed in the Holocaust. As many animals are killed every hour in |
Acid Knoll | 11. In a news broadcast on 24 May 2000, 6.30 pm, TV2 reported that members of the press had followed a 42 year old murderer from Kristiansand in his footsteps. Then ensued an interview with the applicant, during which he was filmed from behind and partly from the side, on his way to the so-called “ |
premises | 11. It appears from the evidence before the Court that the programme started late in the evening of 12 June and lasted about four hours. Relevant excerpts from the programme are set out below.
Hulki Cevizoğlu (presenter – “H.C.”): “Good evening ... There is a group that is grabbing public attention because of the black robes [cüppe] worn by its members, the sticks they carry and their habit of chanting [zikir]. How can this group be described – it is called a sect [tarikat], but is it really a community or group? We will be discussing the various characteristics of this group – the Aczmendis – with their leader, Mr Müslüm Gündüz, who will be talking to us live. We will also be phoning a number of guests to hear their views. On the subject of the black robes, we'll be talking on the phone to Ms N. Yargıcı, a stylist and expert on black clothing. We'll also be hearing the views of Mr T. Ateş and Mr B. Baykam on Kemalism[1]. As regards Nurculuk[2], we'll be calling one of its most important leaders. The Aczmendi group – or sect – has views on religious matters as well. We'll be discussing those with Mr Y. İşcan, of the Religious Affairs Department. And while we are on the subject, viewers may phone in with questions for the Aczmendis' leader, Mr Gündüz ...”
Ms Yargıcı, a stylist taking part in the programme via a telephone link, asked Mr Gündüz a number of questions about women's clothing. They discussed religious apparel and whether the clothing worn by the sect's members was in keeping with fashion or with Islam.
The presenter then discussed movements claiming to represent Islam and asked the applicant a number of questions on the subject. They also talked about methods of chanting. In this context Mr Gündüz stated:
Mr Gündüz (“M.G.”): “Kemalism was born recently. It is a religion – that is, it is the name of a religion that has destroyed Islam and taken its place. Kemalism is a religion and secularism has no religion. Being a democrat also means having no religion ...” H.C.: “You have already expressed those views on a programme on the Star channel ... We are now going to have Bedri Baykam on the line to see what he thinks about your comments. We are going to ask him, as a proponent of Kemalism, if it can be regarded as a religion.” H.C.: “Do you agree with Mr Gündüz's views on Kemalism? You are one of Turkey's foremost Kemalists.”
Bedri Baykam (“B.B.”): “I don't know where to begin after so many incorrect statements. For one thing, Kemalism is not a religion and secularism has nothing to do with having no religion. It is completely wrong to maintain that democracy has no religion.”
Mr Baykam challenged Mr Gündüz's arguments and explained the concepts of democracy and secularism. He stated: B.B.: “A sect such as the one you belong to may observe a religion. But concepts such as democracy, philosophy and free thought do not observe a religion, because they are not creatures who can establish a moral relationship with God. In a democracy all people are free to choose their religion and may choose either to adhere to a religion or to call themselves atheists. Those who wish to manifest their religion in accordance with their belief may do so. Moreover, [democracy] encompasses pluralism, liberty, democratic thought and diversity. This means that the people's desire will be fulfilled, because the people may elect party A today and party B tomorrow and then ask for a coalition to be formed the day after tomorrow. All that is dictated by the people. That is why, in a democracy, everything is free, and secularism and democracy are two related concepts. Secularism in no way means having no religion.” B.B.: “Secularism is freedom of the people and the principle that religious affairs may not interfere with affairs of State.”
... M.G.: “My brother, I say that secularism means having no religion. A democrat is a man with no religion. A Kemalist adheres to the Kemalist religion ...” B.B.: “[Our ancestors were not without a religion.] True, our ancestors did not allow the establishment of a system based on sharia ... inspired by the Middle Ages, an undemocratic, totalitarian and despotic system that will not hesitate to cause bloodshed where necessary. And you call that 'having no religion' – that's your problem. But in a law-based, democratic, Kemalist and secular State all people are free to manifest their religion. Behind closed doors, they may practise their religion through chanting, worship or prayer; they may read what they like, the Koran, the Bible or philosophy – that is their choice. So I'm sorry, but your views are demagoguery. Kemalism has no connection with religion. It respects religion; all people are entitled to believe in a religion of their choice.” M.G.: “Yes. But what I am saying is that a person who has no connection with religion has no religion. Isn't that so? ... I'm not insulting anyone. I am just saying that anyone calling himself a democrat, secularist or Kemalist has no religion ... Democracy in Turkey is despotic, merciless and impious [dinsiz] ... Because two days ago, six or seven of our friends were taken away while on the sect's |
North Caucasian | 85. On 10 July 2001 the CPT issued a public statement concerning the Chechen Republic, under Article 10 § 2 of the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. This step was prompted by the Russian authorities' failure to cooperate with the CPT in relation to two issues: (i) the carrying out of a thorough and independent inquiry into the events in the detention facility at Chernokozovo during the period from December 1999 to early February 2000; and (ii) action taken to uncover and prosecute cases of ill-treatment of persons deprived of their liberty in the Chechen Republic in the course of the current conflict. The statement said, in particular:
“I. The information gathered by the CPT during its visits to the |
South Hook | 56. On 4 March 2004, the Western Telegraph newspaper published a question and answer article with ExxonMobil regarding the LNG terminal. Relevant extracts are quoted below:
“Could LNG explode if there was a collision at sea or in the Haven? Or could it explode for any other reason?
The |
the Irkutsk Region | 10. From 23 February to 27 April 2008 the applicant was transferred to remand prison IZ-38/1 of Irkutsk and from 17 July to 3 August 2008 he was transferred to penitentiary medical facility LIU-27 in |
the Middle East | 11. The supporters signed a declaration. The declarations were then collected and handed over in large numbers to parliaments, administrative bodies and courts. The content of the largely identical declarations was as follows:
“Self declaration (Selbsterklärung)
“I also am a follower of the PKK” (“Auch ich bin ein PKK'ler”)
As the Kurdish people has been denied its basic right to life, it has had no choice but to take up arms. After twenty years of war, our national leader, Abdullah Öcalan, has initiated a strategic change. For two years the PKK has been using exclusively political means to fight for a peaceful and democratic solution to the Kurdish question. On the basis of this new strategy the Workers' Party of Kurdistan (PKK) is undergoing a global reformation. Strongly determined to find a solution, it has developed its political activities against all resistance without leaving the framework of legality.
Although the Kurdish question emerged geographically in |
the Eastern Ukraine | 46. The Government submitted that they were not in a position to provide a description of the material conditions of the applicant’s detention in the Lugansk SIZO given that, following the outbreak of the armed conflict in |
Upper Tulse Hill | 112. There were three allegations against Commander Dick:
“54. ... First, ... that [she] failed to ensure that the block on Scotia Road was kept under careful surveillance control and that tactics were employed to ensure that all suspects could be identified and stopped before reaching a bus stop. As it happens, the nearest bus stop was on |
Hvasser | 36. On the other hand, under Article 253 of the Penal Code, which required only a simple majority, the High Court declared the following two statements, published respectively on the front page and on page 3 of the 8 June 2000 issue (see paragraphs 12 and 13 above), null and void:
“Permanent residence requirements: In the worst–case scenario [H.K.] may be forced to sell her property at |
premises | 42. On 14 October 2004 the prosecutor’s office instituted disciplinary proceedings against two officers of the SBU for their negligence towards the applicant’s son. It noted, inter alia, that the applicant’s son had not been formally arrested (затриманий) but had been kept at the SBU’s |
Europe | 38. The relevant parts of the Annex to Recommendation No. R (2000) 4 read as follows:
“Guiding Principles for an Education Policy for Romani/Gypsy Children in Europe” 1. Educational policies for Romani/Gypsy children should be accompanied by the necessary means and flexible structures to reflect the diversity of the Roma/Gypsy population in |
the Ust-Labinsk District | 8. On 28 January 2016 the Ust-Labinskiy District Court of the Krasnodar Region allowed her claim. The court held as follows:
“... [the applicant] disseminated untrue statements about Ms F. which damaged her honour, dignity and reputation, because these statements referred to unethical behaviour on her part...
The court has established that the defendant used abusive and obscene language in his video ..., therefore [the applicant] intended to humiliate Ms F. and damage her reputation.
... Ms F., the head of |
Europe | 36. By a letter dated 2 February 2004, the Institute of Education for People of Greek Origin and Intercultural Education had informed the representative of the Greek Helsinki Monitor that eighteen schools attended only by “Gypsy children” had been operation in Greece during the 2002-2003 school year. 1. The Committee of Ministers
The Recommendation no. R (2000) 4 of the Committee of Ministers to member-states on the education of Roma children in |
the Sughd Region | 10. According to the applicant, in 2006 he accompanied the President of Tajikistan on an official visit to Iran and Turkey. During the trip a relative of the President of Tajikistan demanded that the applicant transfer title to one of his plants to him. The applicant agreed out of fear. In August 2006 the same person again demanded on behalf of the President that the applicant transfer title to another plant owned by him. The applicant submits that following his refusal to do so, the authorities began to interfere with his business and threatened him with reprisals. On 27 September 2006 the applicant survived an assassination attempt allegedly planned by the authorities. The next day the residents of the town of Isfara in |
Elshitsa | 23. In his application the applicant also requested the court to stay, as an interim measure, the enforcement of the impugned decision, as failure to do so could frustrate the purpose of the proceedings and cause irreparable harm to the environment, thus infringing the right of |
the Staropromyslovskiy District | 25. On 3 May 2000 the town prosecutor’s office opened criminal case no. 12583 in connection with the publication of the article “Freedom or death” in Novaya Gazeta concerning the mass murder of civilians on 19 February 2000 by the 205th brigade of the Russian military forces in the Katayama (also spelt Katoyama) settlement in |
Kentron district | 19. On 24 January 2011, pursuant to the applicant’s enquiries concerning the implementation of decision no. 1785-A, the Mayor of Yerevan informed her of the changes in legislation concerning land and reminded the applicant that she had to conclude the land-lease agreement with |
Earth | 29. The report of 24 December 2008 had been prepared by a panel of “specialists” consisting of a philologist, a psychologist and a doctor of philosophy in religious studies. They had made the following finding:
“The book ‘The Tenth Word: The Resurrection and the Hereafter’ by Said Nursi submitted for expert review is ideological literature addressed to a wide audience. The gist of the book is propaganda about the exceptional nature, superiority or deficiency of persons on the basis of their attitude to religion.
The text under review aims to arouse feelings of aversion, anger, enmity and discord against non-believers.
The book substantiates and justifies extremist activity.”
That finding was based, among other things, on the fact that the book contained military metaphors which, according to the specialists, could incline the reader to see the reality through the prism of the conditions of a military camp, a military ground and potential military actions. The specialists also noted that the value of such a world-view was stressed by positive epithets. The specialist report cited the following expressions:
“Listen, this state is a military ground; an exhibition of wonderful royal art;
The military camp becomes like a lavish colourful blossoming garden on the |
Upper Ajaria | 100. In the 1080s Ajaria, part of the Bagratid Kingdom known as the “Kingdom of the Georgians”, was laid to waste by Seljuk invaders from the South. In the 1570s it was invaded by the Ottoman Empire. The sanjaks (districts) of |
Kursk | 69. By a decision of 30 October 2000 the investigator in charge of the military prosecutor’s office of military unit no. 20102 suspended the proceedings in case no. 14/33/0429-2000. The decision restated the facts of the incident and listed the investigative actions that had been conducted, in the same manner as this had been stated in the decision of 2 October 2000. It went on to say the following:
“A witness questioned in the course of the investigation, Lieutenant Colonel K., the head of the headquarters of the aircraft division of a [deleted] military unit, confirmed the fact of the attack on the Niva vehicle by helicopters of a [deleted] separate helicopter squadron in the vicinity of the village of Arshty. It follows from Lieutenant Colonel K.’s statement that at present the [deleted] separate helicopter squadron had been transferred from the territory of the Chechen Republic to the place of its permanent station in the city of [deleted].
Taking into account that the alleged perpetrator has not been identified, despite all the measures taken, that all the investigative measures which could have been carried out within the territory of the Chechen Republic have been taken and that the personnel of the [deleted] separate helicopter squadron have left for the place of their permanent station in the town of [deleted] ... the investigation should be carried out [at that place] in the town of [deleted].
The decision thus ordered that the criminal proceedings be suspended, as it was impossible to establish the identity of those responsible, and that the case file be transmitted to the military prosecutor’s office of the |
Zamay-Yurt | 50. On various dates in April and May 2005 the investigators obtained saliva and blood samples from Mr A. and the first applicant for genetic expert evaluation and a DNA comparison with the blood on the clothes found in |
Achkhoy-Martan | 68. On 28 December 2009 the investigators again questioned Mr M.T. who reiterated his previously given statement concerning the Priora vehicle and its registration number and stressed that he did not know anyone from either Zakan-Yurt or the |
Khoroshevskiy | 18. According to the second applicant, she arrived at Oktyabrskaya metro station at 4 p.m. on 6 May 2012 to take part in the peaceful demonstration at Bolotnaya Square. She passed Yakimanka Street with other participants, but on approaching the square found the entrance blocked. Around 6.30 p.m. the police started to break the crowd up into groups and push them. Two police officers grabbed her hands and pushed her towards the police van. She did not breach public order and had not taken part in any acts of violence prior to her arrest. At around 9.05 p.m. the second applicant was brought to |
Ajarian | 38. The applicant was committed to stand trial in the Ajarian High Court, where he denied all guilt. He maintained that this second prosecution was the result of a conspiracy to frame him. He denied ever having had any links with Mr David Assanidze or his associates, who prior to their arrest had been living as outlaws in the |
Land A | 20. The Constitutional Court considered that there was no doubt that the Freeport was established in the public interest namely the economic development of the country and therefore the taking of Land A was Convention compatible. As to compensation in respect of |
Shalinskiy district | 57. On 24 July 2002 the Russian Government submitted to the Court a response to the request for information. They cited a report by the Directorate of the General Prosecutor Office for the Southern Federal Circuit, according to which on 17 June 2002 the applicant had filed a report with the Shali District Prosecutor's Office stating that “a group of unidentified armed men” had forcibly removed her husband on 2 June 2002. On 28 June 2002 criminal proceedings were initiated by the district prosecutor under Article 126 § 2 (a) of the Penal Code. At the same time, the Government denied that the applicant's husband had been detained by the authorities. The Government submitted:
“Before the initiation of this criminal case, in the course of examination and initial investigative actions no facts that Mr Said-Magomed Imakayev was detained by servicemen of Federal Forces were obtained. Mr Said-Magomed Imakayev was not conveyed to law machinery bodies or institutions of Penalty Execution System and he is not being kept there now. Moreover, law machinery bodies do not have grounds for his detention. ...
|
Vasili | 13. Properties of applicant no. 1, Mr Constantinos G. Lordos:
(1) Kyrenia, Livera, Fyrades-Tsounni, Plot No. 1, Sheet/Plan: 5/54, Area: 47:2:335m² Use: Land, Share: 1/15;
(2) Famagusta, Egkomi, Salamina, Plot No. 56/1, Sheet/Plan: 24/42, Area: 0:8:900m², Use: Land, Share: 1/12;
(3) Famagusta, Trikomo, Finikoudia/Leivadia, Plot Nos. 209, 211, 199/1, Sheet/Plan: 15/43, Area: 0:3:213, 0:1:894, 1:3:409, Use: Land, Share: 1/3, 1/3, ½ respectively;
(4) Famagusta, Trikomo, Pervolia Trikomou/Kokkines, Plot No. 140/1, Sheet/Plan: 15/43, Area: 1:6:92, Use: Land, Share: 1/3;
(5) Famagusta, |
Anatolia | 102. The report analyses a series of events, such as murders carried out under orders, the killings of well-known figures or supporters of the Kurds and deliberate acts by a group of “informants” supposedly serving the State, and concludes that there was a connection between the fight to eradicate terrorism in the region and the underground relations that formed as a result, particularly in the drug-trafficking sphere. The Report made reference to an individual Mahmut Yıldırım, also known as Ahmet Demir, “the Terminator” or “Yeşil” detailing his involvement in unlawful acts in the south-east and his links with the MİT:
“The bombing of the newspaper Özgür Gündem in İstanbul, the killing of Behçet Cantürk, .... the trillion credits of the banks are in reality the extension of diverse aspects of the action in Ankara. ... The beginning of the Susurluk action might be hidden in a sentence of the Prime Minister at that time, Tansu Çiller. “The list with the names of the businessmen helping the PKK is in our possession.” she said. The executions began afterwards. Who decided the executions? It was inevitable that a deterioration would occur and that personal interests would replace the national interests, and in fact they did. This report perceives the Susurluk incident in that manner. (page 8)
Since the struggle in the region <of eastern and south-eastern |
the Kadıköy District | 7. The arrest report, dated 2 August 1996 and signed by the applicant, stated, that the police had received information that the applicant would meet with another member of the DHKP-C at an address in |
Pionerskaya | 19. In a letter of 29 May 2000 the Vladivostok Administration informed the Administration of the Sovetskiy District that the water level in the Pionerskoye reservoir was close to critical and that some of it would have to be evacuated. However, the |
the Leskenskiy District | 26. The son of the fourth applicant, Albert Askarbiyevich Zhekamukhov, was found to have taken part in the attack of 13 October 2005 and subsequently to have escaped from Nalchik and gone into hiding. He was located in the village of Anzorey in |
the Kolbaşı village | 44. Referring to the statements of the villagers, gendarme officers, the relevant military reports and documents, the investigator concluded that the applicant's allegation that her house had been destroyed by the security forces did not reflect the true circumstances of the case. He found that the village was in fact raided by the PKK on the night of 29 December 1993. However, it was clear from the testimonies of the villagers that the applicant's house was not destroyed that day. From the evidence before him, the investigator found that the applicant had in fact stayed in the village until April 1994, when the villagers evacuated Düzcealan to escape the pressure from PKK members. The applicant sold her cow to a certain Ramazan Gökçe from |
the Urus-Martan District | 39. According to the Government, the investigators had on numerous occasions sent queries to various State bodies. In particular, on 19 November 2002 the investigator in charge had requested information concerning Vakhid Musikhanov's whereabouts from the Urus-Martan Division of the Federal Security Service, the military commander's office of |
the Central District of Yerevan | 6. On 1 August 2002 the Government adopted Decree no. 1151-N, approving the expropriation zones of the immovable property (plots of land, buildings and constructions) situated within the administrative boundaries of |
Golopristansky District | 13. The same day the Hryvnia newspaper published an article entitled ‘Volnaya Ukraina is bleeding’ (‘Bольная Украина истекает кровью’) about the incident of 23 May 2000 and about problems with power cuts caused by the theft of electric power cables for scrap metal. The article described the applicant’s version of events, in which he stated that the victims had been trying to steal metal parts from an electricity transformer and he had warned them and then fired at their motorcycle with his shotgun. They had fired back with a rifle and he had fired two shots in their direction. The article continued as follows:
“The investigation is not able to confirm that there was an EXCHANGE OF FIRE near the sub-station. The Prosecutor of |
Premises | 8. The applicant wrote numerous letters to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Economic Development, the Baku City Executive Authority, the Ombudsman's Office, and other public authorities, complaining of unlawful occupation of the |
Urus-Martan | 39. On 11 March 2003 officer B. of the United Group Alignment (UGA) informed the Shalinskiy district prosecutor’s office that he had no information concerning the apprehension of the applicants’ relatives. Furthermore, Captain L. had never served with the Interior Ministry troops deployed in |
Z-river | 21. In a further article on the same page, under the heading “They want to know where I am”, the paper mentioned the name of the street where the applicant lived (Y), that of his neighbourhood (Z), and that of the company where he worked. The article rendered a statement by the applicant maintaining his innocence and informing that the police had wanted to know his whereabouts but had let him in peace. Next to the article appeared a photograph of the applicant seen from behind, at a relatively long distance, on his way down towards the |
Caucasus | 17. On 11 January 2011 the Federal Asylum Office rejected the applicant’s subsequent asylum request as res judicata. It established the applicant’s identity and reiterated the proceedings in his respect. In the context of the applicant’s private and family life in Austria, the Federal Asylum Office referred to his mother, wife and children, confirming that they were all recognised refugees in Austria and citing their file numbers. Indicating various country reports, inter alia by the German Federal Foreign Office of 2010, the United States Department of State Report on Russia of 2010, the Office for Foreigners (Poland), CEDOCA, the Documentation and Research Centre of the Office of the Commissioner General for Refugees and Stateless Persons (Belgium) and the country of origin information available to the Federal Asylum Office, it noted that the general security situation and the protection of human rights in the north |
Europe | 15. On 28 October 2004 the daily newspaper Halka ve Olaylara Tercüman published an article by N.K.Z. on the subject of the report on minority and cultural rights. In the article, the author stated the following:
“These people should not be considered as liberal intellectuals. Some of them may be bona fide liberals. But their ringleaders are nothing less than traitors ...; there are no two ways about it: the Turkish nation, the Turkishness of Turkey and the Republic of Turkey are facing all-out treason ...; if [the country’s Turkish majority] begins to growl, shout and roar, the traitors will find no hiding or breathing place ...; you obscurantists (karanlıkçılar) who present yourselves as liberal intellectuals ..., you can stick your phoney minorities up your |
Palestine | 14. In a judgment of 14 June 2006 the court excluded the documents obtained through the international letter of request and sentenced S.A. to nine years’ imprisonment. It took the view, in the light of statements by the Director of the World Organisation against Torture, a member of the French section of Amnesty International and the Secretary of the International Federation of Human Rights, called by S.A. as witnesses, and who were unanimous as to the almost systematic use of torture by the Syrian security bodies (since a military decree of 1963), that it was “likely that the statements made by S.A. in Syria, to the Palestine Section, had been given under torture, and that his confession had thus been obtained by this method”. The court continued as follows:
“Moreover, in his report on his mission to Damascus for the execution of his international letter of request of 1 April 2004 ..., M.B., investigating judge (First Vice-President) in charge of the investigation, specified that at the first working meeting with Syrian intelligence officials, he was told that S.A. ‘had already been questioned on 30 April and 2 May 2004’ and that ‘his interviews were continuing on the basis of the list of questions contained in the international letter of request and additional questions which he [M.B.] wanted to be put, particularly in the light of the answers already recorded’.
However, the judge stressed that he had ‘not been allowed to participate in the questioning of S.A. but only to follow it in real time’. On 4 and 5 May the questioning thus continued under the same conditions as the day before.
For his part, S.A. emphasised that his entire interrogation had taken place without the French investigating judge being present.
When presented to that judge on 17 June 2004 he indicated that he was ‘tired’, that he ‘wished to see a doctor immediately’, and that he was ‘worried about his wife and daughter’. He subsequently described his conditions of detention in Syria and the torture to which he had been subjected during the interrogation.
As a result, the French investigating judge was not able to exercise any real control over the conditions in which S.A. was interrogated in Syria, even though he was being held in the ‘ |
premises | 7. In a writ served on the tenant on 28 June 1993, the applicant reiterated her intention to terminate the lease and summoned the tenant to appear before the Salerno Magistrate. The tenant told the applicant that he would not leave the |
Europe | 29. The court further observed that the advertisements had had a purely commercial purpose and had not been intended to contribute to any public debate concerning religion or religious symbols. Referring to the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights in Müller and Others v. Switzerland (24 May 1988, § 35, Series A no. 133) and Otto‑Preminger‑Institut v. Austria (20 September 1994, § 50, Series A no. 295‑A), it stated that it was not possible to discern throughout |
Urus‑Martan | 40. In the morning the applicants went to the Urus‑Martan district military commander’s office, where the FSB officer, Mr. S.G., told them that Mr Rustam Makayev would be questioned and released in two hours. On the same day the applicants complained of the abduction to the |
sub-Saharan Africa | 54. During the course of the new round of proceedings, the IAP ordered an expert report, as suggested by the Administrative Court. In a report dated 19 May 2012, as well as during the hearing of 21 June 2012, the expert in question, Dr L., confirmed that according to his findings, Y.C. had been a sickle cell trait carrier. He added that this was the case in respect of 30% of the population of countries in |
Staropromyslovskiy | 63. The investigation sent dozens of requests and collected various pieces of information relating to the participation of military units of the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of the Interior in operations in the |
the North Sea | 66. He experienced neurological symptoms on a saturated dive in 1985 and dizziness and nausea in several subsequent dives. On a number of occasions he had been exposed to life-threatening incidents while diving in |
TRNC | 24. The judgment was given in the presence of the accused and of an interpreter. The trial judge noted the following:
(i) the accused did not accept the charges against them and stated that they did not wish to use the services of a lawyer registered in the “TRNC”;
(ii) some of the accused had fainted during the trial and had been taken to hospital and excused from attending the hearing;
(iii) the public prosecutor called 7 witnesses, whose statements were translated into Greek for the accused’s benefit;
(iv) the witnesses (mainly police officers on duty at the time of the demonstration) declared that the accused had illegally entered the “ |
Gulistan | 54. The parties have submitted extensive documentary material in support of their respective positions. The following paragraphs contain a short description of the main items of evidence.
(a) The applicant
(i) Map of |
Batman Stream | 8. While the criminal proceedings were pending, the first applicant requested the determination of evidence from the Batman Magistrates’ Court into the incident which led to A.O.’s death. Two expert reports were issued following the scene investigation, conducted by the Batman Magistrates’ Court on 8 July 2005. According to the expert reports, it was stated that the uncontrolled sand draining from |
Silesia | 31. On 2 July 1997 the Governor of Katowice lodged an appeal with the Katowice Court of Appeal (Sąd Apelacyjny), asking that the first-instance decision be quashed, that the case be remitted to the court of first instance, and that expert evidence be obtained in order to determine the meaning of the terms “nation” and “national minority”. In his appeal, he alleged that the court of first instance had violated sections 1(1) and 2 of the Law on associations and unspecified provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure. The relevant grounds of the appeal read as follows:
“[The court of first instance] formally recognised and legally sanctioned the existence of a distinct Silesian nation constituting a 'Silesian national minority'.
In our opinion, such an important and unprecedented ruling, which is of international significance, could not and should not be given without defining the concepts of 'nation' and 'national minority'. The Regional Court, leaving this issue aside – merely because of certain statutory time-limits – simplified the proceedings in an unacceptable manner. This led, in itself, to a failure on the part of the court to establish all the circumstances relevant to the outcome of the case and, furthermore, provided a sufficient basis for this appeal.
The appellant admits that Polish law does not define the terms 'nation' and 'national minority'. This, however, does not justify the conclusion of the Regional Court that 'the nationality of an individual is a matter of personal choice'.
The appellant does not contest the right of a person to decide freely to belong to a national minority; however, a precondition for making such a choice is the existence of a 'nation' with which that person identifies himself.
The decision appealed against proclaims the opinion that the subjective feelings of the person concerned suffice for the purposes of creating a 'nation' or a 'nationality'. Having regard to the potential social repercussions of such an approach, it is not possible to agree with it.
In these circumstances, prior to making any decision on the registration of the 'Union of People of Silesian Nationality', it is necessary to determine whether a 'Silesian nation' exists – a distinct, non-Polish nation – and whether it is admissible in law to create a 'Silesian national minority'.
In the appellant's opinion, there are no objective arguments in favour of the finding that a distinct Silesian nation exists. In case of doubt, ... this question should be resolved by obtaining evidence from experts.
In the contested decision, the lower court focused in principle on determining whether the aims of the association and the means of accomplishing those aims were lawful. ... The appellant does not contest the majority of these aims; it must be said that such activities as restoring Silesian culture, promoting knowledge of |
Западная | 109. The Government enclosed with their observations an excerpt from the order of the head of the Joined Headquarters of the “Western Zone”, dated 10 May 2000 and entitled “On the creation of a permanent commission on the verification of the lawfulness of the use of motor transport in the area of the counterterrorist operation” (выписка из приказа руководителя Объединенного Штаба зоны « |
Kakhovka | 9. According to the documents on file, on 9 December 2002 the applicant was examined by B., a medical specialist of the Odessa holding facility for vagrants, who noted that he had no bodily injuries. Subsequently (on 14 December 2002) the applicant was taken to |
the Achkhoy-Martan District | 56. On 29 June 2003 the inter-district prosecutor’s office requested information concerning the Khadzhialiyev brothers from the Achkhoy-Martan ROVD. In reply they were informed that the criminal police had no information capable of compromising Ramzan and Rizvan Khadzhialiyev. On the same date the inter-district prosecutor’s office requested the prosecutor’s office of the Zavodskoy District of Grozny to establish which law enforcement agencies had carried out special operations in |
the North West | 81. In response to the applicants’ allegation that their detention after 10 April was unlawful because it was on the basis of information solely derived from closed hearings, the judge emphasised that only part of the hearing on 10 April was closed and that the hearing on 15 April was entirely open. He considered that the applicants were being provided with sufficient information during this period to justify their continuing detention. He therefore viewed this part of the claim for judicial review as “fundamentally flawed”. He noted that counsel for the applicants repeatedly asserted that the basis for the applicants’ detention had never been explained to them, without ever attempting to engage with or address the contents of the various documents which had been provided to them. The judge continued:
“98. ... [I]t is plain from all that material that the allegations being made, and the questions being asked, were becoming more and more specific as the days passed, and that by the end of the 13 day period of detention, the claimants were each aware that they were being detained on suspicion of being involved, with other named co‑conspirators, to cause imminent bomb explosions at certain specified public locations in |
Leninskiy district | 57. Witness B., an employee of the district administration, stated in July 2000 that at about 8.30 – 8.45 a.m. on 3 June 2000 he was walking past the Leninskiy VOVD building and heard shooting nearby. Then he saw policemen running from the VOVD building towards the noise. About 200 metres away he noted a group of men wearing camouflage uniforms and balaclava masks, armed with sub-machine guns and portable grenade-launchers. The policemen from the VOVD, also armed with machine-guns, were standing across from them. The witness approached the armed men and produced his identity card; one of the masked men, the senior member of the group, told him that they were conducting a special operation and would call later at the |
Pionerskoye | 107. The court thus attributed responsibility for the events of 7 August 2001 to all three defendants, stating that they should have foreseen the adverse consequences and prevented them, but failed to do so. It stated that the defendants’ fault in the damage caused by the flooding of residential buildings situated in the vicinity of the |
the Veikou Estate | 11. However, in a document of the Athens Forestry Commission of 16 November 1968 on city planning, it was stated that half the area concerned was agricultural and the other half scrubland covered by bushes and just five pine trees. The Forestry Commission expressed the opinion that the area had never been forest land and could not be reafforested, since the decision of the Ministry of Agriculture of 1934 excluded from the scope of reafforestation barren land or parcels owned by individuals. The Forestry Commission concluded that the city development plan could be extended to the area concerned. Two previous documents of the Ministry of Agriculture, dated 3 December 1948 and 11 September 1949, and an expert report concerning |
State | 22. As regards the risk of the applicants absconding, in the decisions dated 5 May, 8 June, 30 July and 10 September 2009, the Skopje Court of Appeal stated, inter alia:
“... The court considers that, as evident from the case-file, the circumstances of the concrete criminal act, taken in connection with the nature, type, gravity and the manner in which the criminal offences were committed ... faced with the possibility to be sentenced to imprisonment and the severity of (this penalty) suggest that there is a risk of the accused of absconding in order to avoid eventual criminal responsibility for the criminal offences in question ...
In this connection the court neither accepts nor does it consider that the allegations of the accused that they have family; that they are parents with a permanent residence [in the respondent |
Danube | 20. The head of the Ministry's Central Finance Department, I.H., testified that the person authorised to acknowledge the debt on behalf of the Ministry had indeed been the head of its Central Finance Department before the action was brought and the head of its Legal Department afterwards. He also testified that the Split Regional Finance Department's request for payment of daily allowances for demining work had been deemed invalid by a letter of 29 October 1998 because the Decision of the Minister of Defence of 18 September 1995 applied only to the |
the Kirovskiy District | 25. On 31 July 2003 the Regional Court examined the applicant’s appeal against his conviction. It found that the evidence on which the judgment was based contained a number of discrepancies which had not been resolved by the trial court and that the failure to summon witnesses for the applicant properly had undermined the adversarial nature of the trial. It also held that the applicant’s allegations that his self-incriminating statements had been obtained under duress had not been thoroughly examined; that the police officers’ statements did not constitute sufficient evidence of their proper conduct; and that the applicant’s counsel’s complaint to the prosecutor’s office of |
Ordzhonikidzevskiy District | 10. In February 1998 the Sverdlovsk Regional Prosecutor reopened the criminal proceedings against the second applicant on the charges of manslaughter and arms possession and remitted the case for further investigation. On 17 November 1998 the investigator at the |
Nemrut Mountain | 6. On 22 April 1994 Kamuran Alican, Çetin Alican and Ilhami Alican took their animals out to graze. When the animals returned to the village without the children, the villagers launched a search party and informed the military nearby; the Van 6th Armoured Brigade Barracks. A search was also unsuccessfully conducted within the military confines. The next day, the dead bodies of Çetin Alican and Ilhami Alican were found in a wheat field between the army barracks and |
Europe | 12. The order was based on a classified proposal of 27 January 2006. The proposal, an excerpt of which was provided by the Government in the proceedings before the Court, stated that the first applicant had been subjected to surveillance in connection with information that three persons of Arab origin who had no identification documents and had contacts with representatives of Palestinian and Lebanese extremist organisations from southern Lebanon were residing in Burgas. The proposal also stated that in 2002 the first applicant had organised a drug trafficking channel from Brazil through western |
the Bug River | 11. Following agreements concluded between the Polish Committee of National Liberation (Polski Komitet Wyzwolenia Narodowego) and the former Soviet Socialist Republics of Ukraine (on 9 September 1944), Belarus (on 9 September 1944) and Lithuania (on 22 September 1944) (“the Republican Agreements” – “umowy republikańskie”), the Polish State took upon itself the obligation to compensate persons who were “repatriated” from the “territories beyond |
Gazi | 59. On 2 April 1998 the court heard the statements of three interveners, Menevşe Poyraz, Haydar Kopal and Şaziment Şimşek, none of whom had been eye-witnesses to the incident. They all requested the court to punish those responsible for the killing of their relatives. The same day, the court heard evidence from Özlem Tunç and Mahmut Yağız. In her statement Özlem Tunç submitted that she was living in the |
North Sea | 59. Mr Nygård worked as a North Sea diver from 1987-94. He carried out more than 200 air dives and saturation dives totalling approximately 200 days. He experienced numerous accidents and near-accidents as a |
the Kar-Kar River | 12. One of the topics discussed in “The Karabakh Diary” concerned the Khojaly massacre of 26 February 1992. Discussing this topic, the applicant made certain statements which could be construed as differing from the commonly accepted version of the Khojaly events according to which hundreds of Azerbaijani civilians had been killed by the Armenian armed forces, with the reported assistance of the Russian (formerly Soviet) 366th Motorised Rifle Regiment, during their assault on the town of Khojaly in the course of the war in Nagorno-Karabakh. Specifically, the article contained the following passages:
“Having seen Khojaly, I could not hide my astonishment. This Azerbaijani town, which had been razed to the ground, has been completely reconstructed and converted into a town called Ivanovka, named after an Armenian general who had actively participated in the occupation of Khojaly. The Khojaly tragedy and the deep wounds inflicted on our soul by the Armenian expansionism on this long-suffering Azerbaijani land permeated all my meetings in Askeran [a town in Nagorno-Karabakh close to Khojaly]. How so? Can it be true that nothing human is left in these people? However, for the sake of fairness I will admit that several years ago I met some refugees from Khojaly, temporarily settled in Naftalan, who openly confessed to me that, on the eve of the large-scale offensive of the Russian and Armenian troops on Khojaly, the town had been encircled [by those troops]. And even several days prior to the attack, the Armenians had been continuously warning the population about the planned operation through loudspeakers and suggesting that the civilians abandon the town and escape from the encirclement through a humanitarian corridor along |
the Penza Region | 38. On 24 October 2011, in the course of an identity check conducted by the police, the applicant failed to present any documents that would authorise his stay in Russia. On the same date the Oktyabrskiy District Court of Penza found him guilty of an administrative offence under Article 18.8 of the Code of Administrative Offences on account of a breach of immigration regulations, fined him with RUB 3,000 and ordered his administrative removal from Russia. The court also ordered the applicant’s placement in custody until his removal and noted that the decision could be appealed against within ten days after its announcement. In the decision the court noted the particular circumstances in which the offence had been committed and further stated as follows:
“In order to determine the type ... of administrative penalty, the judge takes into account the concrete circumstances of the offence ... committed, [the applicant’s] financial and family situation, his personality, [the fact that] in 2011 he was found guilty of an administrative offence on account of a breach of regulations on foreign nationals’ stay in the Russian Federation, and, furthermore, that from 10 August 2009 to 11 March 2011 he was living in |
Upper Silesia | 25. On 13 March 1997 the applicants filed a pleading in reply to those arguments. They asserted that the fact that the majority of Poles failed to recognise the existence of a Silesian nation did not mean that there was no such nation. They cited various scientific publications and went on to explain that the fact that the Silesians formed a distinct group had already been acknowledged at the end of the First World War; moreover, the Silesians had always sought to preserve their identity and had always formed a distinct group, regardless of whether |
the North Caucasus | 29. On 26 December 2003 the second applicant complained to the military prosecutor's office of military unit no. 04062 that his son had been abducted by armed men in camouflage uniforms in several vehicles. He pointed out that when the abductors had been stopped at the GAI station, one of them had produced a special permit which had allowed the cars to pass without being checked. The second applicant also stated that he had managed to find out that Bashir Mutsolgov had been abducted by officers of the Ingushetia department of the FSB, the Chechnya department of the FSB and the Regional Department of the FSB in |
the Kaunas City District | 20. Upon the initiative and consent of the applicant’s adoptive father, on 30 June 2004 the applicant was taken to the Kaunas Psychiatric Hospital for treatment. The applicant complained that she had been treated against her will. A letter by the hospital indicates that the applicant’s adoptive father had asked the hospital staff to ensure that her contacts with D.G. were limited on the ground that the latter had had a negative influence on the applicant. However, on 3 September 2004 the prosecutor for |
the Ilmenau | 17. Between the end of the hearing of the applicant by the Lüneburg Regional Court on 7 November 2008 at around 3 p.m. and its decision at 9.15 p.m. on that day, the applicant essentially stayed in the office area of the Lüneburg Police Station. She went outside for a walk on the banks of |
the Atlantic Ocean | 19. On 31 December 2008 the pre-trial investigation was discontinued by the prosecutor for a second time. The prosecutor held that no crime had taken place and that the applicant’s husband had died of a heart attack, when ‘the ship was on a voyage in |
the Urus-Martan District | 11. On the same day the armed men apprehended two of the first applicant's nephews, Abdula and Artur; they were released a few hours later and returned home. Abdula and Artur told the applicants that following their arrest they had been brought to the premises of the military commander's office of |
the Arctic Surveyor | 21. From the age of sixteen Mr Vilnes worked as a seaman for periods, pursued studies in mechanics and underwent secondary education and served as a marine soldier in the army until 1974. During the latter period he worked as a diver. From 20 May to 9 September 1975 Mr Vilnes was employed by the diving company ThreeX Diving Ltd., where he first worked as a diver and then as a diving team leader. Thereafter, he pursued further education in Switzerland. For a period, he took on diving jobs in parallel to studying.
(i) Incidents at |
Yakkasarayskiy | 92. On 12 February 2015 K. questioned one of the police officers who had arrested the applicant, Mr Kh., as a witness. The interview was in Russian. The answer to the question about the circumstances of the applicant’s arrest reads as follows:
“On 14 June 2014 at about 7.30 a.m. in the |
Prutets | 18. On 5 May 2003 the Regional Urban Development and Architecture Department (“the Urban Development Department”) informed Yaremche and Tatariv Councils that the area near the applicant’s house was not suitable for construction of the cemetery as it did not respect a 300-metre wide health protection zone that would protect the residential buildings and a 50-metre wide water protection zone to protect the |
Kalı | 51. According to the eye-witness accounts of events on 23 October given by the applicants Ahmet Ayder and Nadir Doman and the witnesses Türkan, Tahir and Bedriye Ekmekçi, Huri Biçer and Leyla Ayder, soldiers came to the |
the Volgograd Region | 16. This application was lodged on 28 January 2011 by Aleksandr Vitalyevich Bgantsev, who was born in 1958 and lives in Volgograd. The applicant was represented before the Court by Ms Y. Lepilina, a lawyer practising in |
Mesker-Yurt | 52. On 22 January 2004 Mr S.Kh., a resident of Starye Atagi, was questioned as a witness. He stated that in February 2002 there had been an armed clash between the federal troops and insurgents in his village. The federal servicemen had also carried out a special “sweeping” operation, in the course of which his son and the three Nasukhanov brothers and their cousin had been arrested. The detainees had been brought to the mill where the military unit had been stationed. At the request of the local authorities the servicemen had released his son and Vakha Nasukhanov. The two Nasukhanov brothers and their cousin, as well as twelve other residents of Starye Atagi, had not been released and their fate had been unknown. Two or three days later, after the special operation in |
Europe | 535. All the applicants were charged generally with “being subsidiary persons of an illegal organisation”, i.e. the PKK. Specific allegations relating to this charge were set out in each case, ranging from providing free or cheap legal representation to PKK members, acting as couriers, handling weapons and drugs, making financial donations, organising propaganda, etc. In the case of İmam Şahin, it was alleged, inter alia, that he had “prepared documentation showing the PKK as innocent, stating that the incidents in the region occurred with the support of the State, belittling the State and ...that [he had] faxed these to |
Nazran | 110. The first applicant was questioned on 10 September 2002 and 19 February 2009. On 9 October 2002 the first applicant was granted victim status. She corroborated the third applicant’s statements and added that on 21 August 2002 she had been in |
the Val d’Oise | 28. The Court of Appeal first found that the defendants’ occupation of the land breached the land-use plan, which was automatically enforceable, and responded as follows to the arguments raised:
“While the right to housing is a constitutional principle, and while Articles 3 and 8 of the Convention ... guarantee respect for each person’s private and family life and protect everyone from inhuman and degrading treatment, these superior principles have not in this particular case been impaired, as the municipality’s action had a legal basis derived from compliance with regulations that are indiscriminately binding on everyone, thus sufficing to establish the public interest that is necessary for the exercise of such action, giving rise to adversarial proceedings at first instance and on appeal, and as the enforcement of a court decision given with due regard for defence rights cannot constitute the alleged degrading and inhuman treatment.
The long duration of the occupation does not create rights, neither does the tolerance, however lengthy, of such occupation in breach of the provisions of the municipality’s land-use plan. It is therefore pointless for certain appellants to rely on the schooling of their children, which is not necessarily undermined, or on the irrelevant fact that they hold relocation record books (carnets de circulation), which do not exempt them from complying with the regulations.
It is equally pointless for the appellants to allege bad faith on the part of the municipality or that is has breached its statutory obligations under the Besson Act.
It transpires from a letter from the prefecture of |
Island | 40. On the same date the neurosurgeon Dr Vallejo Lopez wrote the following statement (original in English):
“Mr Alexander Matthew [sic], with Lumbalgia and Radicular pain at the level of L5-S1 (Lumbar Discal Hernia S5-S1) is under medical treatment with Physical Therapy, but his condition is not so good, specially the aspect of the pain. Considering the situation of the patient like prisoner (K.I.A. Aruba) it is very difficult to give guarantee that the medical treatment and Physical Therapy treatment are going in the normal direction.
Mr Matthew has indication for surgical procedure, but this indication at the present is not so clear, because of the abnormal situation of the patient. I suggest to have a second opinion with another Neurosurgeon and then it will be possible to define this difficult case.
Considering that Aruba has only one Neurosurgeon, we have to explore the needs to get a second opinion with the Neurosurgeon that periodically is visiting the |
Kurgan Region | 47. In parallel to these proceedings, on 13 June 2002 the district prosecutor’s office ruled not to charge Mr. S.K. and Mr. A.I. with incitement to racially motivated hatred on account of lack of evidence of a criminal act. On 26 June 2002 that decision was quashed by the |
the Western Zone | 74. On 26 October 2001 the investigator questioned Major-General Yakov Nedobitko, who had headed the operation in Katyr-Yurt. He testified that at the relevant time he had headed a division of Interior Ministry troops which belonged to the Western Zone Alignment, headed by Major-General Vladimir Shamanov. The situation in the zone of their responsibility in early February 2000 was very difficult, because large groups of fighters were trying to break through from Grozny, via the plain, to mountains in the south of Chechnya. At the end of January 2000 the OC of the Western Zone Alignment issued an operation order to destroy these groups before they joined up with their supporters in the mountains. He further stated:
“From Shamanov I learnt that a large group of fighters, having escaped from Lermontov-Yurt, had entered Katyr-Yurt. Shamanov ordered me to conduct a special operation in Katyr-Yurt in order to detect and destroy the fighters.
I drew up a plan of the special operation, which defined units of isolation, units of search, rules of fire in case of enemy fire, positions of ... roadblocks... Two roadblocks were envisaged – one at the exit towards Achkhoy-Martan, another – towards Valerik. ... The involvement of aviation was foreseen should the situation deteriorate. The artillery actions were planned ... in advance in order to target the possible bandit groups' retreat routes and the lines of arrival of reserves to assist the besieged groups. The artillery were only to be involved in the event of enemy fire against the search groups.
This plan was drawn up the night before the operation. On the evening of the same day Shamanov called me to the command headquarters of |
Urus-Martan | 67. On 20 July 2007 the applicants' lawyer Mr M.A. submitted to the SRJI a written statement concerning his study of the investigation file in case no. 61144. In this letter he described the following:
“... the criminal case file comprises one volume. The case was opened on 30 October 2002 ... Makka Dolsayeva was granted victim status and questioned. Kursolt Dolsayev was also questioned. No other investigative measures were taken. The investigation forwarded information requests to law-enforcement agencies in Chechnya asking whether the latter had apprehended the Dolsayev brothers; according to the responses, the brothers had not been apprehended [by the law-enforcement agencies].
On 30 December 2002 [the prosecutor's office] decided to suspend the investigation owing to the failure to identify the perpetrators; the investigator's decision stated that all possible investigative measures in the absence of anyone to be charged with the crime had been taken.
... the crime scene examination was not conducted. Therefore it is possible to conclude that from the very beginning the investigation in the criminal case led to a dead-end; one could not possibly talk about its effectiveness.
For instance, in their witness statements Kursolt and Makka Dolsayev stated that after the abduction they had seen tyre marks of military vehicles on the ground; however, the investigation did not find that it was necessary to examine the crime scene [although] traces of the criminals or any other evidence left [by the culprits] could have been discovered there ...
The investigation did not question all the witnesses to the crime. [The applicants'] neighbours were questioned only in August 2003.
... on 20 April 2003 the investigation in the criminal case was resumed owing to 'the lack of response to several information requests forwarded to law-enforcement agencies in Chechnya'.
... on 20 May 2003 the decision to suspend the criminal investigation was taken.
On 6 August 2003 the investigation was resumed.
A plan of operational-investigative measures was drawn up on 6 August 2003. According to the prosecutor's office, the investigation's main theory was the abduction of the Dolsayev brothers by servicemen of federal forces. To verify this theory, [the investigation] issued the order 'to conduct by 18 August 2003 an expert evaluation of the objects collected from the crime scene'. However, it should be recalled that the crime scene examination had not been conducted and, consequently, no objects had been collected from the scene. The investigative orders listed in the plan of operational-investigative measures had not been carried out.
The investigation in the criminal case was suspended on 6 September 2003.
On 4 April 2005 the investigation was resumed.
Orders concerning 'verification of the operations conducted by the servicemen of the Urus-Martan FSB and servicemen of the |
the Pionerskaya | 99. On 29 November 2004 the Primorskiy Regional Court (“the Regional Court”) upheld on appeal the judgment delivered in the second applicant’s case. It confirmed that the Vladivostok city authorities had had no obligation to clear |