MOSCOW, June 13 (RIA Novosti) – The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled on Thursday that the Russian authorities must pay over 28,000 euros to two Russians who took part in an anti-terrorist operation in the North Caucasus but never received combat allowance.
The applicants, Igor Sivograk and Valery Zenov, filed a complaint with the Strasbourg court in 2008 claiming that their rights under the Human Rights Convention had been violated, as the Russian authorities had failed to enforce a 2005 Russian court decision to award them due compensation for participating in combat action.
The ECHR ruled on Thursday that Sivograk be paid 14,015 euros ($18,660) in pecuniary damages and 3,000 euros (about $4,000) in non-pecuniary damages, while Zenov will receive 8,468 euros ($11,275) in pecuniary damages and 3,000 euros in non-pecuniary damages.
The Zavodskoi District Court in the Chechen capital of Grozny ordered Chechnya’s Interior Ministry in November 2005 to pay out money due to the applicants for taking part in the counter-terrorist operation in Russia’s volatile North Caucasus region.
“The applicants repeatedly attempted to secure the enforcement of that judgment by contacting the debtor authority and other state authorities responsible for payment of the judgment debt,” the ECHR said in its judgment.
“They provided the authorities with the necessary documents, including the writ of enforcement issued by the domestic court. However, their attempts were not successful and the judgment remained unenforced.”
A Moscow court upheld the Chechen court decision in September 2009, but quashed it in November 2010 following an application by the Interior Ministry for the case to be reviewed taking into account newly discovered circumstances.
The ECHR declared on Thursday that the applicants’ complaint was admissible and held that their rights to a fair hearing and protection of property had been violated.
The ruling can be appealed by parties in the Strasbourg court’s Grand Chamber within three months.
