This is the name of the case, on which the European Human Rights Court in Strasbourg is supposed to make a decision on September 16. These court proceedings were initiated by Georgian attorneys representing the claimants: Chechens confined in Georgian jails. The complaint has already been accepted for consideration and now hearing on considering the acceptability (or inadmissibility) of the suit must take place in compliance with Items 29 and 35 of the European Human Rights Convention. The parties have already been summoned and scrupulous study of the materials in now under way.

The case is concerning the 13 Chechens who last year were forced out of the territory of Chechnya after intense bombings and fled on the Georgian side of the border, where after promises from the Georgian government they turned themselves in to the border guards and asked for political asylum as soon as they got a chance to. But instead of the help that they were expecting, they were transported to Tbilisi in military helicopters and locked up in jail cells. Right after that the Georgian side forwarded their files (with false names) and photos to Russia. In Russia in turn, cases of criminal persecution were concocted based on that false information. The most interesting thing in that whole story was the fact that there was no inquiry whatsoever from the Russian side to have the Chechen refugees extradited.

As a result, five men were handed over to the Russian authorities with no investigation or trial being conducted. The cases of the rest eight were turned to legal defense after the urgent interference of the European Court. Hearings have already been held on these cases. Decisions have been made on some of them and postponed on some of them. Another session must be held on September 19.

Once the European Court accepts the case for consideration, it will be supposed to solve another problem of whether the extradition of five Chechens to Russia was legitimate.

It is a known fact that up until now the cases on Chechnya have never been accepted in Strasbourg. There were several attempts made to initiate the very procedure of considering whether it is acceptable, but all of it would normally end up being unsuccessful at the stage of taking the complaints. Now very many things depend on this procedure. If successful, it will be a precedent. Besides, the «Case of Shamayev and 12 others…» will have to drag other materials about the facts of genocide of the Chechen people behind it.

One of the Georgian attorneys told a Kavkaz Center reporter that the final goal is to stop the abnormal and inhumane practice of selling human lives once and for all, i.e. extraditing with no trial to the countries at war. Such procedures must be banned until war conflicts are solved. First of all, it concerns Chechnya and the Chechens.

Now it’s the turn of the European Court to speak. The nearest future will show whether that international legal structure will fulfill its direct obligation on defending human rights. It’s time for the European Court to show that it is capable of considering not only human rights of terminated employees who were not paid their salaries on time. 250,000 Chechens killed and tortured to death in Putin’s chambers have the right to have more attention from the European Court, rather than unpaid salaries of well-to-do corporations.

Data Tutakhshia,