Putin has submitted a law on the termination of the Convention against torture. Russia will no longer let inspectors into prisons or allow the assessment of complaints of prisoners.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has submitted to the State Duma, the Lower Chamber of the Russian Parliament, a bill on the termination of the European Convention to prevent torture and the inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. On Monday, the news website Radio Freedom (RFE/RL) reported, TASR writes.
Russia signed this Convention in 1996 and two years later entered into force. It resigned from the Convention in 2022.
End of duties for Russia
After terminating the Convention, Russia will no longer be obliged to bring international inspectors into its prisons. Complaints of Russian prisoners addressed to the European Committee to prevent torture will no longer be considered.
The explanatory memorandum to the Putin submitted by the bill states that Russia has no representative in the European Committee for the prevention of torture (CPT) since 2023, since the Council of Europe has blocked the process of election of a new member from Russia.
A document intended for the State Duma states that Russia’s requests to resume its representation remained unheard of, despite the principle of cooperation enshrined in the European Convention.
The Russian side considers this approach to be discriminatory: it thus violates not only Russia’s right to representation in CPT, but also disrupts the mechanism of mutual monitoring of compliance with international obligations in protection against torture and other inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
