PARIS, September 17 (RIA Novosti) - The European Court of Human Rights has ordered Russia to pay 210,000 euros ($309,540) in compensation to the relatives of people who disappeared or died in Russia's North Caucasus in 2003 and 2004.
The applicants said Russia failed to carry out an "effective investigation" into the cases, all of which took place in the North Caucasus republics of Chechnya and Ingushetia, the Strasbourg court said in a statement.
Bekman Asadulayev disappeared in Chechnya's capital of Grozny on January 14, 2004, after he was detained by a group of armed men wearing camouflage near the local police station.
Ruslan Magomadov disappeared in Grozny on February 9, 2003, after he was taken from the family home early in the morning by unidentified men.
Umar Zabiyev died in June 2003 near the Ingush village of Galashki, when his truck was attacked by armed men. Zabiyev's mother was wounded in the attack, and his body was found the next day.
The Strasbourg court said Russia did not provide it with required documents concerning the cases. The court also ruled that the Russian authorities were guilty of the deaths of the missing people.
The statement said the Russian authorities had infringed several articles of the European Convention on Human Rights, ordering them to pay to the relatives of victims 63,867 euros ($94,216) of material damage, 115,000 euros ($169,574) of moral damage, and 29,950 euros ($44,163) to cover legal fees.
The ruling can be appealed against at the Court's Grand Chamber within three months from the date of the ruling.
Russia has lost the majority of cases brought against it in the Strasbourg-based 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.
In June, the Strasbourg court ordered Russia to pay 160,000 euros ($224,000) in compensation to the relatives of five Chechens who disappeared in 2001, and 42,600 euros ($59,370) to a prisoner as compensation for inhumane treatment.
In July, the court ordered Russia to pay 39,757 euros ($58,618) in compensation to a Chechen woman whose husband went missing in 2001.
The North Caucasus republics of Chechnya and Ingushetia have seen an upsurge of militant violence of late. Chechnya saw two brutal separatist wars in the 1990s and early 2000s.
