KATYR-YURT, Russia -- A Chechen woman has welcomed a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights that awarded her and more than two dozen others record compensation for a deadly Russian air raid on their village, RFE/RL's North Caucasus Service reports.
On December 2, the Strasbourg-based court ruled that Moscow should pay Marusya Abuyeva and 28 others 1.72 million euros ($2.2 million) over the deaths of 24 of the applicants' relatives in the February 2000 raid on the village of Katyr-Yurt.
The court ruled that there had been a violation of right to life and right to an effective remedy in what hit called Russia's failure to investigate the "indiscriminate bombardment."
Abuyeva told RFE/RL she was happy with the ruling, saying that Russian authorities had not responded properly to their demands for a full investigation.
"We understand that it's not possible to return our [loved ones] but at least we have a just decision which proves that they were murdered," she said.
The raid on the village followed its capture by Chechen separatist fighters who had escaped from Grozny.
The applicants said they and their relatives had been sheltering in basements at the time of the raid.
On December 2, the Strasbourg-based court ruled that Moscow should pay Marusya Abuyeva and 28 others 1.72 million euros ($2.2 million) over the deaths of 24 of the applicants' relatives in the February 2000 raid on the village of Katyr-Yurt.
The court ruled that there had been a violation of right to life and right to an effective remedy in what hit called Russia's failure to investigate the "indiscriminate bombardment."
Abuyeva told RFE/RL she was happy with the ruling, saying that Russian authorities had not responded properly to their demands for a full investigation.
"We understand that it's not possible to return our [loved ones] but at least we have a just decision which proves that they were murdered," she said.
The raid on the village followed its capture by Chechen separatist fighters who had escaped from Grozny.
The applicants said they and their relatives had been sheltering in basements at the time of the raid.
