Russia Officially Withdraws From European Anti-Torture Convention

(MENAFN- UkrinForm) According to Ukrinform, the Council of Europe announced this on its websit.

"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. Nevertheless, the Convention's preventive approach remains as important as ever: independent monitoring of places of detention is a fundamental safeguard against torture and ill-treatment," said Alan Mitchell, President of the Committee.

He also stressed that the preventive approach of the Convention remains critically important and that independent monitoring of places of detention is a fundamental safeguard against torture and ill-treatment.

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The CPT recalled that since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, it has received numerous reports of alleged torture and ill-treatment by Russian officials in places of detention, both in occupied Ukrainian territories and within Russia itself.

"Due to the non-cooperation of the Russian authorities, the CPT has been unable to conduct a visit to the Russian Federation to examine the situation for itself," the statement said.

The Committee contrasted this with its cooperation with Ukraine, which continues to allow CPT visits to any place of detention on its territory at times determined by the Committee. Ukraine also ensures the automatic publication of the Committee's reports.

The Russian authorities notified the Council of Europe of their decision to denounce the Convention on October 30, 2025. Russia had been a party to the Convention since 1998.

According to the report, between 1998 and 2021, the CPT conducted 30 visits to Russia, inspecting more than 450 places of detention.

At the same time, Russia was the only member state with a declared policy of withholding consent to the publication of the Committee's reports and the authorities' responses to them. As a result, Russia allowed only four reports to be published.

Among the documents that remain unpublished are reports on ten visits to Chechnya and the North Caucasus between 2000 and 2017.

As Ukrinform previously reported, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law denouncing the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture.

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