Russia has finally withdrawn from the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture (CPT). What will the Russians lose? This material (information) is produced, distributed and (or) sent by a foreign agent "Anti-Torture Team" or relates to the activities of a foreign agent "Anti-Torture Team" | 18+ On November 1, 2026, Russia officially ceased to be a member of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT), the central monitoring mechanism of the Council of Europe. He has the unique right to personally inspect places of detention. The Russian legal sphere has completely lost external, independent and operational control over the situation in the places of detention. The main advantage of the CPT was the "presence effect". The very fact that an international inspection could arrive without warning at any colony in Siberia or the Urals with the right to speak confidentially with any prisoner served as a powerful deterrent to the regional leadership of the FSIN. The CPT published the first report on the state of torture in Russia in 2001, documenting the catastrophic state of detention centers in the Far East. In particular, CPT experts visited Detention Center No. 1 in Vladivostok and noted that the cells were very crowded, and the windows were covered with screens, which prevented natural light and fresh air from entering the place. The Ministry of Justice then instructed the regional departments in the penal system to remove all blinds from the windows in the premises. In addition, Russia reported at the time that the number of prisoners at Detention Center No. 1 in Vladivostok had been reduced by 39%, and all people detained there were provided with individual sleeping quarters. 10 years later, in 2012, the ECHR issued a pilot ruling "Annaev and others v. Russia" on conditions of detention, where it described in detail the violations typical of the entire country: critical lack of personal space, lack of sleeping places, lack of privacy in bathrooms and poor ventilation.

Russia has finally withdrawn from the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture (CPT). What will the Russians lose? This material (information) is produced, distributed and (or) sent by a foreign agent "Anti-Torture Team" or relates to the activities of a foreign agent "Anti-Torture Team" | 18+ On November 1, 2026, Russia officially ceased to be a member of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT), the central monitoring mechanism of the Council of Europe. He has the unique right to personally inspect places of detention. The Russian legal sphere has completely lost external, independent and operational control over the situation in the places of detention. The main advantage of the CPT was the "presence effect". The very fact that an international inspection could arrive without warning at any colony in Siberia or the Urals with the right to speak confidentially with any prisoner served as a powerful deterrent to the regional leadership of the FSIN. The CPT published the first report on the state of torture in Russia in 2001, documenting the catastrophic state of detention centers in the Far East. In particular, CPT experts visited Detention Center No. 1 in Vladivostok and noted that the cells were very crowded, and the windows were covered with screens, which prevented natural light and fresh air from entering the place. The Ministry of Justice then instructed the regional departments in the penal system to remove all blinds from the windows in the premises. In addition, Russia reported at the time that the number of prisoners at Detention Center No. 1 in Vladivostok had been reduced by 39%, and all people detained there were provided with individual sleeping quarters. 10 years later, in 2012, the ECHR issued a pilot ruling "Annaev and others v. Russia" on conditions of detention, where it described in detail the violations typical of the entire country: critical lack of personal space, lack of sleeping places, lack of privacy in bathrooms and poor ventilation.