SC dismisses appeal on claim for disclosure of burial places of killed attackers on Nalchik

The Supreme Court (SC) of Kabardino-Balkaria has upheld the decision of the court of Nalchik, which dismissed the request to disclose the burial place of the killed suspects involved in the attack on the capital of the republic in 2005.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that relatives of the suspects killed during the armed clashes on October 13, 2005, in Nalchik filed claims against the government of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic (KBR) with the demand to disclose their burial place. In July 2016, the Nalchik court dismissed the claims. The relatives of the killed suspects appealed against the court's decision.

In total, five appeals were filed to the Supreme Court of the KBR, and the second of them was dismissed at the court hearing held on November 11, the "Kommersant" reports.

The remaining claims are similar to those already considered, and the SC will most likely also dismiss them, believes Rustam Matsev, a lawyer of the human rights organization "Legal Initiative", as quoted by the "Kommersant".

The court's decision comes down to the fact that the administration of the republic was not aware and could not be aware about the place of burial of the bodies. However, the authorities are in any way involved in the burial of bodies of militants and suspected terrorists, notes advocate Magomed Abubakarov.

In January 2014, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) partially granted the demands of the complainants in two cases concerning the authorities' refusal to give out to relatives the bodies of the suspects killed during and after the attack on Nalchik. According to Rustam Matsev, the above fact encouraged the relatives of the suspects to re-request the authorities to disclose the information on their burial places.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.