Russia withdraws from convention for prevention of torture

The Moscow Times reported the information, citing a decree by Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, published on the Russian government’s website.

The Convention was adopted on November 26, 1987, in Strasbourg. Russia signed the document on February 28, 1996, and ratified it on March 28, 1998. It not only prohibits torture but also obliges member states to prevent it.

Within the framework of the agreement, the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) was established — an independent body authorized to inspect prisons, penal colonies, pre-trial detention centers, psychiatric institutions, and other places of deprivation of liberty. The purpose of these inspections is to detect violations and provide recommendations for improving detention conditions.

The main goal of CPT visits is to identify human rights violations and give recommendations on improving the conditions of detainees. States that are parties to the Convention are obliged to cooperate with the Committee, granting it unrestricted access to all places of detention. After each visit, the CPT prepares a detailed report, which is sent to the respective country with a request to respond to the issues and observations it contains.

• In June, Oleksii Butenko, head of the Department for Combating Crimes Committed in Armed Conflict at the Kherson Regional Prosecutor’s Office, reported that over 1,500 people had been identified in the Kherson region as victims of torture by the occupying Russian forces. The existence of at least 13 torture sites set up by Russians in the region has also been confirmed.