5.  The applicants were born in 1951 and 1948 respectively and live in Makiyivka.
6.  On 2 February 2002 B., the applicants’ son, died in a road accident in the town of Makiyivka. B.’s car collided with another car being driven by Br., who sustained serious bodily injuries and was taken to hospital.
7.  On the same day the Makiyivka town police inspected the scene of the accident and questioned M., who was Br.’s passenger at the time of the accident.
8.  On 4 and 5 February 2002 forensic medical experts identified the injuries on the applicants’ son’s body and noted that there was ethyl alcohol in his blood and urine.
9.  Between 5 February and 8 April 2002 the police conducted technical vehicular examinations and questioned Br., the applicants, and several other witnesses. According to the results of the technical examinations, the applicants’ son swerved into the oncoming traffic lane and collided with Br.’s car, which was moving in the opposite direction. The expert therefore concluded that the applicants’ son had contravened traffic rules and thus caused the road accident.
10.  On 18 April 2002, after the applicants had lodged their complaints, the Makiyivka District police opened a criminal investigation into the circumstances of the applicants’ son’s death.
11.  Between May 2002 and January 2005 the police ordered three forensic technical expert examinations, an additional technical examination, a vehicular trace examination, and three forensic expert examinations of the applicants’ son’s body. The police also conducted several on-site accident reconstructions, questioned witnesses, and took other investigative measures. The investigating authorities found that the surviving driver, Br., had previously been employed in a police security company, but that he had resigned before the accident happened.
12.  In the course of the above investigations, on 4 November 2003 the Chief Department of Investigations at the Ministry of Internal Affairs issued instructions as to the manner in which the case was to be investigated. It was emphasised that there had been contradictions in the evidence; the scene of the accident had not been inspected properly; Br.’s car had not been seized; the circumstances of the accident had not been noted carefully; and the witnesses had not been identified.
13.  On 2 July, 4 September and 29 October 2004 the criminal case was terminated because the investigators considered that it had been the applicants’ son who had contravened traffic rules and caused the accident resulting in his own death. Those decisions were quashed as unsubstantiated by supervising prosecutors, who found that further measures were required to ensure full and objective investigation. Numerous investigating instructions were given.
14.  Between 2005 and 2007 the investigators ordered two more technical expert examinations and a vehicular trace examination, three medical forensic expert examinations of the applicants’ son’s body, and a medical forensic examination of Br.
15.  On 5 November 2007 the investigator ordered a new technical expert examination, which was completed on 19 June 2008. According to the results of the examination, it had been the applicants’ son who had contravened traffic rules and caused the accident in which he had died.
16.  On 23 June 2008 the investigator terminated the criminal proceedings because of the death of the applicants’ son. The applicants objected to the grounds on which the case had been terminated, because their son had not been exonerated.
17.  On 1 September 2009 the prosecutor quashed the decision of 23 June 2008, noting that the applicants had objected to the grounds for termination of the proceedings, and therefore it had been for the court to take a final decision in the case.
18.  On 29 September 2009 the investigator asked the Gornyanskyy District Court of Makiyivka (“the District Court”) to close the criminal case concerning the traffic accident in which the applicants’ son had died.
19.  On 23 June 2010 the District Court rejected the investigator’s request and sent the case back to the prosecutor’s office, finding that there had been procedural errors in referring the case to the court. In particular, the investigator was instructed to prepare a bill of indictment.
20.  On 3 September 2010 the investigator closed the criminal case by his own decision, on the grounds that the person responsible for the accident had died. That decision was quashed on 3 December 2010 by a supervising prosecutor for failure to follow the court’s instruction of 23 June 2010.
21.  On 28 January 2011 the investigator referred the case to the District Court for a further decision on discontinuing the proceedings.
22.  On 31 January 2012 the District Court discontinued the criminal proceedings because of the death of the person responsible for the accident. The applicants appealed, arguing that the investigation had not been thorough and that the available evidence had been contradictory.
23.  On 24 April 2012 the Donetsk Regional Court of Appeal quashed the decision of 31 January 2012 as unlawful, finding that the first-instance court should carry out a full examination of the case and give judgment, either finding the applicants’ son guilty or acquitting him.
24.  On 26 December 2013 the District Court found the applicants’ son guilty of causing a traffic accident, but the sentence was not imposed owing to his death.
25.  On 7 April 2014 the Donetsk Regional Court of Appeal quashed the above judgment, finding that the first-instance court had violated the applicants’ right to defence, and remitted the case for a fresh examination by the same court.
26.  From April 2014 illegal armed groups associated with two self‑proclaimed entities known as the “Donetsk People’s Republic” and the “Luhansk People’s Republic” began operating in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, seizing control of certain parts of those regions by force, including Makiyivka. Ukrainian Government forces launched a military anti-terrorist operation against them. A ceasefire line was later put in place.
27.  According to information provided by the applicants, their case was going to be examined by the “authorities” of the “Donetsk People’s Republic”.