CCPR/C/125/D/2524/2015 January 1995. On their way out, they stopped to visit a friend, Ms. Goncharenko, who lived on Mir Street in Grozny. They spent several hours there and finally decided to leave the city. 4.7 The author was at her parents’ house in Shalazhi village when some persons unknown to her brought in the body of M. Magomadov. They did not know how he had died, nor did they know the whereabouts of Shamsy Magomadov. The authorities sent requests for information to all city and district police departments regarding Shamsy Magomadov, but received no information. It therefore appeared impossible to find out where he was. 4.8 The authorities refused to initiate a formal criminal investigation several times, based on article 24 (1) (3) of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation, owing to the expiration of the statute of limitation on prosecutions under article 103 (murder) of the Criminal Code in force at the time. On 15 May 2011, the authorities rejected another such request to initiate a criminal investigation. 4.9 On 26 February 2015, however, that decision was annulled and on 27 February 2015, the Grozny city department of the Investigations Committee sent the case for consideration to the military investigations unit for the Southern Federal Military District. 7 4.10 The author further complained to the Staropromyslovsky district court, challenging the refusal to initiate a formal criminal investigation. The court rejected the author’s appeal, which was in turn rejected by the Supreme Court of the Chechen Republic. The author filed an appeal to the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation. Author’s comments on the State party’s observations on admissibility and the merits 5.1 The author notes that the State party claims that Shamsy Magomadov disappeared under unknown circumstances and it should not therefore be held responsible for violation of articles of the Covenant. The evidence shows, however, that on 9 January 1995, Mr. Magomadov was detained by federal military forces in the Chechen Republic and was held in the temporary detention centre in Mozdok (paras. 2.1 and 2.2 above).8 Another letter, dated 12 September 1996, and written by the International Committee of the Red Cross, also states that representatives of the Red Cross had visited Mr. Magomadov in the temporary detention centre in Mozdok. 9 The interregional prosecutor’s office for the Caucasus also confirmed that Mr. Magomadov had been held in detention until 3 February 1995. 5.2 However, the State party denies the very fact that Mr. Magomadov was detained in the hands of the federal authorities. The State party also fails to provide any information as to whether Mr. Magomadov was released and if he was released, whether he was seen at any time after his detention. The author claims that this shows that he disappeared while in the hands of the authorities. It has been 23 years since his disappearance and the author has not been able to obtain any information about his fate. The author submits that the State party failed to conduct a timely investigation and refused to initiate a formal criminal investigation. The State party therefore violated Mr. Magomadov’s right to life, under article 6 of the Covenant. 5.3 The author reiterates that the State party authorities are responsible for holding Mr. Magomadov unlawfully. The State party failed to provide any plausible explanations as to his fate during or after his detention. Mr. Magomadov’s detention was therefore arbitrary in nature. There is also information, based on a newspaper article, that at some point in 1995, Mr. Magomadov was being held in prison in the city of Pyatigorsk, where he was serving a 14-year sentence (para. 2.2 above). 5.4 Enforced disappearances bring suffering to the victims, but also to the members of their families. The families wait years for news which they will probably never receive. The family members often experience the same feelings as the victims of torture themselves. 7 8 9 4 The result of this consideration has not been communicated to the Committee. The author attached a relevant letter from the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation which attests to this fact. A copy of the letter is attached.