B. Search for Ramzan Rasayev and investigation
14. From that day the applicants have been searching for Ramzan Rasayev. Both in person and in writing they have applied to various official bodies, trying to find out his whereabouts and fate. The applicants have retained copies of some of their letters to the authorities and the answers, which they have submitted to the Court. Their attempts to discover the whereabouts of Ramzan Rasayev, and the criminal proceedings, can be summarised as follows.
15. On 28 December 2001 the first applicant filed a written request with the military prosecutor of military unit No. 20102 asking for an explanation of the grounds on which Ramzan Rasayev was being kept in detention and enquiring about the place of his detention.
16. On 2 January 2002 the first applicant repeated his request, this time indicating the witnesses of his brother's apprehension.
17. On an unspecified date the fist applicant filed a written complaint with the Grozny District Prosecutor. On 5 January 2002 this complaint was forwarded to the military prosecutor of military unit No. 20102 "to be joined to the criminal case file".
18. On 17 January 2002 the second applicant wrote to the Prosecutor's Office of the Chechen Republic asking for the whereabouts of her son to be established and to be informed accordingly.
19. On an unspecified date the applicants filed a written complaint with the Chechnya Department of the FSB. On 22 January 2002 that complaint was forwarded to the military prosecutor's office because the agency "had no information on its officers' involvement in Ramzan Rasayev's arrest".
20. On an unspecified date the second applicant filed a written complaint with the Special Envoy of the Russian President for rights and freedoms in Chechnya. On 30 January 2002 that letter was forwarded to the Prosecutor's Office of the Chechen Republic "for appropriate measures to be taken".
21. On 26 January 2002 the Grozny District Prosecutor's Office opened a criminal investigation into the abduction of Ramzan Rasayev (criminal case file No. 56014). The decision to open the investigation read:
"From 24 to 26 December 2001 divisions of the federal troops of the RF, the Ministry of the Interior and the FSB carried out a special operation in Chechen-Aul of the Grozny District, the Chechen Republic, to locate members of illegal armed groups and check passports. During the operation the servicemen detained Mr Ramzan Rasayev, a resident of Chechen-Aul, and took him to an unknown destination. His whereabouts are still unknown. ..."
22. On 28 January 2002 the first applicant was questioned as a witness. He gave his account of the events as described in paragraphs 6 - 10 above.
23. On 26 March 2002 the Grozny District Prosecutor's Office suspended the criminal proceedings in case No. 56014. The decision to suspend the investigation read:
"From 24 to 26 December 2001 divisions of the federal troops of the RF, the Ministry of the Interior and the FSB carried out a special operation in Chechen-Aul of the Grozny District, the Chechen Republic, to locate members of illegal armed groups and check passports. During the operation the servicemen detained Mr Ramzan Rasayev, a resident of Chechen-Aul, and took him to an unknown destination. His whereabouts are still unknown.
Having regard to the foregoing and taking into account that in the course of the preliminary investigation [it did not appear possible to identify] the persons to be charged with the offence and that the time-limits for the preliminary investigation are expiring, [the preliminary investigation] should be suspended. ..."
24. On 3 December 2002 the Grozny District Prosecutor's Office resumed the criminal proceedings in case No. 56014. The decision stated that on 27 March 2002 the Prosecutor's Office of the Chechen Republic had instructed the Grozny District Prosecutor's Office to take certain investigative measures in the case. However, the instructions had not been complied with.
25. On 20 December 2002 the Grozny District Prosecutor's Office issued a certificate in the first applicant's name confirming that criminal proceedings concerning the abduction of his brother were under way.
26. On 21 December 2002 the Grozny District Prosecutor's Office issued another certificate of similar content, but also indicating that Ramzan Rasayev had been arrested by military servicemen and taken to an unknown destination.
27. On 25 December 2002 the first applicant was granted victim status in the criminal proceedings concerning the abduction of his brother. The decision of the Grozny District Prosecutor's Office contained the following statement:
"From 24 to 26 December 2001 the military units of the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of the Interior and the FSB carried out a special operation in Chechen-Aul of the Grozny District, Chechnya, to locate members of illegal armed groups and check passports. During the operation the servicemen detained Mr Ramzan Rasayev, born in 1963, a resident of Chechen-Aul, and took him to an unknown destination. His whereabouts are still unknown. ..."
28. On 4 January 2003 the Grozny District Prosecutor's Office suspended the criminal proceedings in case No. 56014, as "no persons to be charged with the crime could be identified". The first applicant was informed of the decision.
29. According to the Government, on 30 March 2003 the Military Prosecutor's Office of the United Group Alignment received a letter from the Special Envoy of the Russian President for rights and freedoms in Chechnya with a request to assist in the search for Ramzan Rasayev. The prosecutor's office of military unit No. 20102 conducted an inquiry in the course of which no information about the involvement of servicemen in the abduction of Ramzan Rasayev was received. The military prosecuting authorities did not take any procedural decisions in this regard.
30. On 28 April 2003 the second applicant wrote to the Secretary of the Security Council of Chechnya requesting assistance in finding her son.
31. On an unspecified date the first applicant filed a complaint with the Chief Military Prosecutor's Office. On 19 May 2003 this complaint was forwarded to the office of the Prosecutor General in the Southern Federal Circuit.
32. On 30 May 2003 the Grozny District Prosecutor's Office provided the first applicant with an official statement indicating the dates of the suspension and the resumption of criminal case No. 56014. The last event in the procedural history was the decision to suspend of 4 January 2003.
33. On 2 June 2003 the SRJI wrote on the applicants' behalf to the Prosecutor's Office of the Chechen Republic asking for an update on the investigation of case No. 56014.
34. On 9 July 2003 the Prosecutor's Office of the Chechen Republic informed the first applicant that the criminal proceedings in case No. 56014 had been suspended as of 25 January 2003 (as opposed to 4 January 2003 as previously indicated).
35. On 7 January 2006 the Grozny District Prosecutor's Office resumed the investigation. The first applicant was informed of the decision.
36. On 8 January 2006 the first applicant was questioned as a witness. He confirmed his statements made on 28 January 2002.
37. On the same date B.I., the applicants' neighbour, was questioned. She stated that in December 2001 she had seen servicemen putting Ramzan Rasayev into a Ural vehicle without identification plates and taking him to an unknown destination.
38. On 7 February 2006 the Grozny District Prosecutor's Office suspended the investigation on the ground that the persons to be charged with the offence had not been identified. The first applicant was informed of the decision.
39. On 28 July 2006 the Prosecutor's Office of the Chechen Republic quashed the decision to suspend the investigation and referred the case for further investigation to the Grozny District Prosecutor's Office. The resumed investigation was supervised by the Office of the Prosecutor General. The first applicant was informed of the decision.
40. According to the Government, in the course of the investigation requests were sent to various State agencies and remand prisons of Chernokozovo and Stavropol with a view to establishing the whereabouts of Ramzan Rasayev. However, they were of no avail.
41. According to the applicants, throughout the criminal investigation they were not involved in the proceedings and received almost no information about their progress. According to the Government, they were informed of all the decisions to suspend and resume the investigation.