MOSCOW, May 28 (RIA Novosti) - The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg ordered Russia on Thursday to pay compensation to three Chechen families whose relatives went missing, the court said on its website.
The plaintiffs claimed that their relatives disappeared as a result of being unlawfully detained by Russian troops, and accused local authorities of failing to carry out a proper investigation.
In the first case, 11 Russian nationals from the Chechen village of Martan-Chu claimed that two of their relatives, Lecha Basayev and Lema Dikayev, disappeared on June 6, 2002 after being taken by a group of armed men wearing camouflage uniforms. The court ordered Russia to pay damages ranging from 900 euros ($1,200) to 35,000 euros ($49,000), along with $12,000 ($17,000) for costs.
The applicants in the second case are the husband and son of Khava Magomadova, who disappeared in the Chervlennaya village on December 16, 2002 on her way to work.
"The Court awarded 5,000 euro [$7,000] to each applicant in respect of non-pecuniary damage and 4,500 euro [$6,300] for costs and expenses," the court said in a statement.
The court also ordered Russia to pay from 750 euros ($1,000) to 20,000 euros ($28,000) in compensation for emotional trauma, and 6,650 ($9,300) in costs to 10 relatives of Muslim Nenkayev, who went missing on June 8, 2002, after being taken by a group of armed men in camouflage uniforms.
The ruling will enter force if neither party requests that the case be referred to the Grand Chamber within three months.
Russia has lost the majority of cases brought against it in the Strasbourg court. In 2008, the court ruled against Russia 245 times. Overall, around 20% of all complaints made to the court in the past decade have involved Russia.
