Overview

• President Vladimir Putin signed a law withdrawing Russia from the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture, ending Council of Europe monitoring visits to Russian detention facilities.
• UN Special Rapporteur Alice Jill Edwards reports that Russian forces use a TA-57 field telephone to administer electric shocks to ears, fingers and genitals, a method referred to as a “call to Putin.”
• A UN dossier documents sexualized violence, genital beatings, nipple burns and electroshock against detainees in occupied areas, with a formal presentation due before the Human Rights Council on October 15 after Moscow failed to respond to inquiries.
• Edwards says the scale of degrading treatment is massive and asserts that Putin bears personal responsibility, calling torture part of Russian war tactics and policy.
• Ukraine’s Interior Ministry cites 127 investigations involving at least 205 victims of sexual violence, while the Prosecutor General has documented 363 cases including 19 children, and Russia denies the allegations.