Russia plans to formally withdraw from the Council of Europe’s treaty for the prevention of torture, in response to a decree printed Monday.
The decree, written by Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and dated Aug. 23, proposes that President Vladimir Putin submit the withdrawal from the conference to the State Duma, Russia’s decrease home of parliament. No formal exit date has been set.
Russia’s pullout is essentially symbolic given the precarious state of human rights within the nation, which worsened after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The Kremlin has used torture to keep up management and stifle dissent domestically.
Russia was expelled from the Council of Europe, the continent’s prime human rights physique, a month after its all-out aggression towards Ukraine started over three years in the past.
In lots of circumstances the Kremlin has aimed torture at political prisoners, together with opposition chief Alexei Navalny, who died in 2024 in a penal colony contained in the Arctic Circle. Ukrainian prisoners held in captivity have additionally been victimized.
The European Conference for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Therapy or Punishment, adopted in 1987, is likely one of the Council of Europe’s cornerstone treaties. It permits anti-torture committee members to examine detention amenities in member international locations, specializing in jail overcrowding and higher circumstances for inmates.