Russia withdraws from European Convention against Torture Russia officially ceased to be a party to the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment on November 1, the Council of Europe announced. In this context, the state will no longer conduct independent monitoring of places of deprivation of liberty: prisons, colonies, pre-trial detention centers, psychiatric institutions, and more. It was carried out by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT). Russia has been a party to the treaty since 1998. However, after the country was expelled from the Council of Europe in March 2022 due to an invasion of Ukraine, cooperation with the CPT almost ceased. The commission has repeatedly complained about Moscow ignoring requests, both regarding visits to places of detention and in high-profile cases, including the death of opposition leader Alexei Navalny in a polar wolf colony in the winter of 2024. On October 30, 2025, the Russian authorities informed the Council of Europe of their condemnation of the treaty. President Vladimir Putin signed the law on this a month earlier. According to the provisions of the treaty, the withdrawal takes effect one year after the notification. More details.

Russia withdraws from European Convention against Torture Russia officially ceased to be a party to the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment on November 1, the Council of Europe announced. In this context, the state will no longer conduct independent monitoring of places of deprivation of liberty: prisons, colonies, pre-trial detention centers, psychiatric institutions, and more. It was carried out by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT). Russia has been a party to the treaty since 1998. However, after the country was expelled from the Council of Europe in March 2022 due to an invasion of Ukraine, cooperation with the CPT almost ceased. The commission has repeatedly complained about Moscow ignoring requests, both regarding visits to places of detention and in high-profile cases, including the death of opposition leader Alexei Navalny in a polar wolf colony in the winter of 2024. On October 30, 2025, the Russian authorities informed the Council of Europe of their condemnation of the treaty. President Vladimir Putin signed the law on this a month earlier. According to the provisions of the treaty, the withdrawal takes effect one year after the notification. More details.