Intimidation

The Washington Post reports that

Russians who appeal to the European Court of Human Rights after their relatives disappear or are killed in Chechnya or neighboring Ingushetia face constant threats to force them to drop the cases. In at least five instances, applicants to the court were themselves killed or had disappeared, according to lawyers, human rights groups, court records and relatives.

In April, two men were taken from their homes by armed men after filing a case about the abduction of eight people in a Chechen village in 2004, according to Memorial, a Russian human rights group. The body of one of the petitioners was found in May. Members of his family are now living in fear and considering withdrawing the case, according to Memorial.

The whole article makes disturbing reading. There are detailed case notes and accounts of threats and persecution. The article also documents the problems caused by the sheer volume of work involved.

The court is facing a huge backlog of cases. Last August, it formally gave priority to all cases related to the conflict in Chechnya, a decision that appeared to have been motivated, in part, by reports of pressure on applicants, according to the Justice Initiative.

In addition, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, whose member states set up the court in 1959, passed a resolution last year expressing "outrage" about a number of cases in which applicants had been killed or had disappeared.