MOSCOW: President Vladimir Putin on Monday (Sep 29) signed a law pulling Russia out of a European anti-torture convention, continuing Moscow’s withdrawal from Western institutions since the start of its war in Ukraine.
Russia was expelled from the Council of Europe in March 2022 but had technically remained a party to the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture. The treaty allows international monitors to visit prisons and detention centres to safeguard the rights of people deprived of liberty.
On Monday, Putin signed legislation denouncing the convention. Explanatory notes to the law accused the Council of Europe of “discrimination” for refusing to appoint a Russian representative to statutory bodies.
Russia’s foreign ministry said last month that leaving the treaty would not harm Russian citizens and insisted Moscow “remains committed to its international human-rights obligations.”
