Part 3 79 Questions: Is the force used by the authorities proportionate to the threat? Does the operation amount to a violation of the right to life? Considering the complexity and exceptional nature of the case, several degrees of scrutiny can be applied when assessing whether the authorities succeeded or failed to plan and conduct the rescue operation in such a way as to minimize the risks for the hostages. In its ruling on the case, the ECtHR noted that the authorities were not in control of the situation inside the building, and had every reason to believe that there was a real, serious and immediate risk of mass human losses, and that a forced intervention was their best option. The use of gas, although dangerous, was aimed at facilitating the liberation of the hostages and reducing the likelihood of an explosion. It left the hostages a high chance of survival, which was dependent upon the efficiency of the authorities’ rescue effort. It cannot, therefore, be considered a disproportionate use of force in itself. However, the evacuation of and medical assistance to the hostages could have been subjected to closer scrutiny, as the authorities had some control of the situation outside the building, should have relied on a generally prepared emergency plan and, to a certain extent, further planned this particular rescue operation over the first two days of the hostage crisis. It appears that the rescue plan was prepared on the assumption that the hostages would be wounded by an explosion or gunshots. The rescue workers and medics were not informed of the eventual use of gas nor of its properties. The evacuation started long after the gas was dispersed. There was also an inadequate exchange of information between various services and limited on-scene co-ordination between them, as well as a lack of appropriate medical treatment and equipment and inadequate logistical planning. Therefore, the ECtHR concluded that the inadequate planning and implementation of the rescue operation amounted to a violation of the right to life of the hostages. * This case study is taken from the facts in Finogenov and others v. Russia, and the analysis of the question on the findings of the ECtHR in that case.78 78 78 ECtHR, Finogenov and others v. Russia, Application Nos. 18299/03 and 27311/03, 4 June 2012, <http://hudoc.echr.coe.int/sites/eng/pages/search.aspx?i=001–108231>.