Russian CC to consider the complaint of the relatives of the militants who perished in Kabardino-Balkaria

The Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation (RF) has made a decision to consider, with participation of representatives of the parties, the appeal of the parents of the militants who died on October 13, 2005, in Nalchik.

The news was reported by the Secretariat of the Constitutional Court. The date of the session is not appointed yet, but the Secretariat has reported that the parties will be informed about the forthcoming consideration two weeks in advance.

We remind you that late last year some parents of the perished militants lodged an application to the Constitutional Court because the authorities refused to give out the bodies of their sons for burial with reference to the Russian Law "On Burial and Funeral Business in the Russian Federation." In the opinion of the application authors, the provisions of the Law break their constitutional rights. The right to be buried with observance of religious and national rites (rituals) is guaranteed by the RF Constitution: part 4, Article 15; parts 1-2, Article 17; and Article 28.

We remind you that the European Court for Human Rights has also accepted the complaint of the parents of perished militants about refusal to give their bodies out for burial. The European Court sent a memorandum to the Government of Russia on the issue, the response to which should be given on May 22. So far, the applicants have no information about any answer of the RF Government to the European Court.