Vladimir Putin signed a law on Monday to withdraw Russia from the European Convention for the prevention of torture, created by the Council of Europe from which Moscow was excluded in March 2022 after his offensive against Ukraine.
According to a document published by the authorities, the Russian President signed this law previously adopted by the Parliament that had accused the Council of Europe, based in Strasbourg, in France, of “discrimination” against Russia.
The European Convention for the Prevention of torture, ratified by the 46 Member States of the Council of Europe, aims to protect people detained from possible violence and provide particular controls in prisons.
Russia responsible for “serious violations”
In August, Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs had assured that this “would be bad” for Russian citizens and that Russia remained “subject to its international human rights obligations.”
However, two United Nations special reporters said in September that the decision to withdraw from the Convention raised “red flags” regarding the situation in places of deprivation of liberty in Russia.
NGOs and independent media surveys say that many Ukrainian prisoners are subject to torture in Russian prisons.
Last week, a report by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) considered that Russia was responsible for “serious violations” for international law against prisoners of Ukrainian war “that constitute war crimes and, in some cases, perhaps crimes against humanity.”
The generalized and systematic “attacks” consist, among other things, in “acts of torture” and can go as far as “arbitrary executions”, often after surrender, according to this report.
Source: BFM TV
