Strasbourg - The European Court of Human Rights (ECHCR) in Strasbourg said Wednesday it had fined Russia nearly 225,000 euros (285,000 dollars) for the wrongful deaths of four civilians and the disappearance of another in the republic of Chechnya.

The fines, which include court fees and other expenses, are to be paid to two families who charged that their close relatives had been killed by Russian servicemen and that authorities had failed to carry out an effective investigation.

One case concerned the May 2000 killing of four people, including a child and a pregnant woman. The mother of one of the victims said that the servicemen had attempted to eliminate the evidence by blowing up the corpses.

The second case involved the disappearance in November 2002 of a 24-year-old Russian national who vanished after a group of some 15 masked men in camouflage uniforms and equipped with portable radios searched the house in which he was staying. He has never been seen again.