Russia plans to officially withdraw from the Council of Europe’s treaty for the prevention of torture, according to a decree published Monday.
The decree, written by Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and dated Aug. 23, proposes that President Vladimir Putin submit the withdrawal from the convention to the State Duma, Russia’s lower house of parliament. No formal exit date has been set.
Russia’s pullout is largely symbolic given the precarious state of human rights in the country, which worsened after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The Kremlin has used torture to maintain control and stifle dissent domestically.
Russia was expelled from the Council of Europe, the continent’s top human rights body, a month after its all-out aggression against Ukraine began over three years ago.
In many cases the Kremlin has aimed torture at political prisoners, including opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died in 2024 in a penal colony inside the Arctic Circle. Ukrainian prisoners held in captivity have also been victimized.
The European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, adopted in 1987, is one of the Council of Europe’s cornerstone treaties. It allows anti-torture committee members to inspect detention facilities in member countries, focusing on prison overcrowding and better conditions for inmates.
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