Overview

• State news agency TASS reported that on September 8 President Vladimir Putin sent legislation to parliament to withdraw from the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture.
• The Kremlin argues it can no longer participate in the Committee for the Prevention of Torture and seeks to halt outside monitoring of detention facilities.
• The Council of Europe treaty requires prevention of ill-treatment and allows unannounced inspections, access Russia has blocked since 2021, and the move follows its 2022 exit from the European Convention on Human Rights.
• UN special rapporteurs Alice Jill Edwards and Mariana Katzarova warned the plan raises serious concerns and said detention sites in Russia and occupied areas of Ukraine have become “black holes.”
• Rights groups and former detainees report systematic torture, and Germany’s federal criminal police (BKA) says it is pursuing related investigations with international partners.