Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday signed the withdrawal of Russia from the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture into law. The move effectively eliminates oversight of the country’s prisons and detention facilities at a time when Moscow faces widespread accusations of torture and inhuman treatment against its own citizens, Ukrainian civilians, and prisoners of war .

The European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment previously authorized regular visits by international experts to locked-down facilities. Over the course of three decades, these experts produced 27 reports assessing the risk of inhuman treatment and issued recommendations for reform. In 2024, however, the Council of Europe’s Committee for the Pr

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