Russia Quits Anti-Torture Convention, Shutting Out Monitors

Russia’s withdrawal from the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment took effect on Nov. 1, ending the Council of Europe‘s independent monitoring of detention facilities in the country.Russian authorities notified the Council of Europe of their decision to withdraw from the convention on Oct. 30, 2025. Under Article 22, the withdrawal took effect one year after the notification.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official.Russia had been a party to the convention since 1998. Between then and 2021, the Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) carried out 30 visits to the country, inspecting more than 450 places of detention.However, Russia was the only party to the convention that maintained a policy of refusing to authorize the publication of CPT visit reports and its own responses, the Council of Europe said in its statement, published Nov. 1, 2026.Only four visit reports were approved for publication, while the remaining reports covered periodic and ad hoc inspections, including 10 visits to Chechnya and the North Caucasus between 2000 and 2017.Russia can still authorize the publication of the unpublished reports, the statement said.Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the CPT has received numerous accounts of alleged torture and ill-treatment by Russian officials in detention facilities both in occupied Ukrainian territories and inside Russia. Other Topics of Interest US Reportedly Seeks to Restore Russian Gas Supplies Through Ukraine Washington believes soaring energy prices and supply shortages could weaken European resistance to Russian gas, despite the EU’s plans to phase out imports. However, the committee has been unable to visit Russia to investigate the allegations because of the Russian authorities’ lack of cooperation, according to the statement.The Council of Europe contrasted this with Ukraine’s continued cooperation, saying Kyiv allows the CPT to visit any detention facility on its territory at any time and automatically publishes the committee’s reports.“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,” said Alan Mitchell, president of the CPT.“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,” he added.The CPT will continue its work across the Council of Europe’s 46 member states, seeking to strengthen protections for the dignity and rights of people deprived of their liberty.In late September 2025, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law formally withdrawing Russia from the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture, completing a process that follows Moscow’s expulsion from the Council of Europe in March 2022.Although Russia was expelled from the organization, it had remained a party to the convention. Explanatory notes to the withdrawal law accused the Council of Europe of “discrimination” for refusing to appoint a Russian representative to its statutory bodies.Russia’s foreign ministry previously said the withdrawal would not “harm” Russian citizens and insisted Moscow remained committed to its international human rights obligations.However, two UN special rapporteurs warned that the move “raises red flags about what is going on behind bars” in Russian prisons.Last September, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe said Russia was responsible for “widespread and systematic violations” of international law in its treatment of Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs), including arbitrary killings.A separate UN human rights report found that Russia had subjected Ukrainian civilian detainees to consistent patterns of serious violations of international law. Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization, reporting since 1995. Its international reach – 90% of readers are outside of Ukraine – make it truly Ukraine’s global voice.