Russia withdraws from European Convention against torture: Putin signs new law

Russian leader Vladimir Putin has signed a law denouncing the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

Source: Kremlin-aligned Russian news agency TASS; Ukrinform, a Ukrainian news agency

Details: Russian authorities justified the move by claiming that the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and its two additional protocols no longer apply to Russia, citing the Council of Europe's supposed "refusal to ensure the representation of the Russian Federation in the organisation's statutory bodies".

Following this withdrawal, Russia will no longer be obliged to allow international inspectors access to its prisons. Complaints from Russian inmates to the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture will no longer be considered.

The convention document, signed by Russia on 28 February 1996 and ratified on 28 March 1998, not only prohibits torture but also obliges member states to prevent it.

To this end, an independent international body, the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT), was established with the authority to inspect places of detention, identify violations and make recommendations to improve conditions. States party to the convention are required to cooperate with the committee and provide unrestricted access to all detention facilities.

Background: Earlier, The Wall Street Journal reported that the leadership of Russia's penitentiary system removed all restrictions on the use of violence against prisoners of war in the first weeks after the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine began. This decision marked the beginning of years of systematic torture of Ukrainian captives in Russian prisons.

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