Russia, accused of mass torture, withdraws from convention against torture

Russia has officially withdrawn from the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

Source: press service for the Council of Europe, as reported by European Pravda

Details: The decision on Russia's withdrawal from the Convention entered into force on 1 November.

Russia notified the Council of Europe of its decision on 30 October 2025, and its denunciation of the Convention took effect one year after the date of notification.

Alan Mitchell, President of the Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT), said: "The withdrawal of the Russian Federation marks the end of the CPT's monitoring mandate in the country. It also marks the end of any independent monitoring of places of deprivation of liberty inside the Russian Federation."

Details: Russia had been a party to the Convention since 1998. Between 1998 and 2021, the CPT carried out 30 visits to Russia, during which it visited more than 450 places of deprivation of liberty. However, Russia was the only state party to the Convention that refused to authorise publication of the committee's visit reports and responses to them. Consequently, the Council of Europe was able to publish only four reports on visits to Russian places of deprivation of liberty.

The unpublished reports concern periodic and ad hoc visits, including 10 visits to Chechnya and the North Caucasus between 2000 and 2017.

Since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the CPT has received numerous reports of alleged acts of torture and ill-treatment in detention facilities by Russian officials not only in the occupied territories of Ukraine but also on Russian territory. However, due to the Russian authorities' refusal to cooperate, it has been unable to conduct a visit to independently assess the situation.

The Council of Europe emphasised the contrast between Russia's approach and that of the Ukrainian authorities, which continue to allow the CPT to visit any places of deprivation of liberty on their territory at any time.

Background:

• On 17 September 2025, the State Duma (the lower chamber of the Russian parliament) voted to adopt a draft law submitted by Vladimir Putin on the denunciation of the Convention, which aims to prevent torture and inhuman or degrading treatment.
• The Convention, adopted in 1987, obliges member states to prevent torture in territories under their jurisdiction and prohibits the extradition of individuals to countries where they might face torture.
• In October the UK introduced a package of sanctions against Russia which included restrictions against LNG shadow fleet vessels, Kremlin disinformation networks and perpetrators of civilian torture and child indoctrination.

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