The Russian authorities continue to denounce international treaties of the Council of Europe. Soon the country will withdraw from the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin signed the corresponding government decree. The document was signed on Saturday, but it appeared on the government website only on Monday evening. It was presented to Putin for submission to the State Duma.
The European Convention for the Prevention of Torture is an international treaty adopted within the framework of the Council of Europe in 1987. The document was signed by Russia on February 28, 1996, and ratified on March 28, 1998. It not only prohibits torture but also obliges to prevent it. For this purpose, the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) was established—an independent international body that has the right to conduct inspections in prisons, colonies, pre-trial detention centers, psychiatric institutions, and other places of detention.
The convention is considered one of the key tools for monitoring the observance of human rights in the penitentiary system.