On Monday, September 29, 2025, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law officially pulling Russia out of the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. The move, which has drawn sharp international attention, marks the latest step in Moscow’s ongoing withdrawal from Western institutions and rights frameworks, particularly as tensions continue to escalate over Russia’s offensive in Ukraine.
The law, published on a government portal and widely reported by outlets including Reuters and The Guardian, formalizes Russia’s denunciation of a landmark agreement that for decades aimed to protect the rights of people deprived of their liberty, such as prisoners. The European Convention for the Prevention of Torture, adopted by the Council of Europe in 1987, obliges member countries to prevent torture and inhuman treatment, ensure independent international monitoring, and allow inspectors from the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) access to detention facilities.
Russia joined the convention in 1998, during a period of post-Soviet rapprochement with European institutions. For 26 years, it was a member of the Council of Europe and, until recently, a participant in the convention’s monitoring mechanisms. However, following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Council of Europe expelled Moscow from its ranks in March 2022—a significant diplomatic rupture that left the country’s status within various European treaties in limbo.
Despite its expulsion from the Council, Russia technically remained a party to the anti-torture convention. That changed on Monday, when President Putin signed the new law, which had already been passed by Russia’s parliament. The explanatory notes attached to the legislation accused the Council of Europe of “discrimination” by refusing to appoint a Russian representative to statutory bodies, particularly the committee overseeing compliance with the convention. According to Devdiscourse, Russian authorities cited this exclusion as a pivotal reason for withdrawing from the treaty.
The Kremlin’s official justification frames the move as a defensive response to what it sees as unfair treatment by European bodies. The Russian foreign ministry, in a statement last month, insisted that pulling out of the convention would not harm Russian citizens and that Russia “remains committed to its international human-rights obligations.” This assertion, however, has been met with skepticism and outright condemnation by international observers and human rights advocates.
One of the most immediate consequences of Russia’s denunciation is that it is no longer obliged to allow international inspectors into its prisons and other detention facilities. Previously, the CPT had the authority to conduct unannounced visits to Russian sites where individuals were deprived of their liberty, reporting on conditions and treatment. Now, with Russia’s departure from the convention, such oversight has been unilaterally terminated. In addition, complaints from Russian prisoners to the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture will no longer be considered, effectively closing a crucial avenue for redress for those alleging abuse or mistreatment.
The European Convention for the Prevention of Torture is widely regarded as one of Europe’s key tools for protecting human rights. It operates alongside the European Convention on Human Rights, forming a cornerstone of the continent’s postwar legal and moral order. The anti-torture convention’s unique strength lies in its system of independent, expert-driven inspection and reporting, which has historically helped expose abuses and drive reforms across member states.
Russia’s withdrawal marks a significant setback for this system, both symbolically and practically. As RBC-Ukraine reported, the Kremlin’s move has been interpreted by Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a “de facto acknowledgment of the crime — the systematic practice of torture — and an attempt to evade responsibility for gross human rights violations.” The ministry’s statement reflects deep concerns that, in the absence of international oversight, abuses within Russia’s vast penal and detention network could go unchecked.
For many observers, the timing and context of the withdrawal are impossible to ignore. Since the start of its full-scale military campaign against Ukraine, Russia has faced mounting allegations of human rights abuses, both in the conflict zone and within its own borders. The expulsion from the Council of Europe in 2022 was itself a response to Moscow’s actions in Ukraine, and the subsequent unraveling of treaty commitments has been seen as part of a broader Russian pivot away from European norms and institutions.
Within Russia, the official line remains that the country will continue to uphold its international human rights obligations, even outside the formal structures of the Council of Europe. Yet critics argue that the loss of external scrutiny and accountability mechanisms is likely to embolden those within Russia’s security and penal apparatus who already operate with considerable impunity. The withdrawal also raises questions about the fate of ongoing investigations and complaints filed before the denunciation, as well as the broader trajectory of Russia’s legal and diplomatic engagement with the West.
The Council of Europe, for its part, has yet to issue a detailed response to the latest development. However, the organization has consistently maintained that independent monitoring and international cooperation are essential for the prevention of torture and inhuman treatment. The refusal to seat a Russian representative on the convention’s monitoring committee, as cited by the Kremlin, was rooted in the broader context of Russia’s expulsion and the breakdown of trust between Moscow and European institutions.
While the immediate legal implications of Russia’s withdrawal are clear—ending international inspections and complaint mechanisms—the broader political and human rights consequences will take time to unfold. Some analysts warn that the move could set a troubling precedent, encouraging other authoritarian-leaning states to question or abandon their own commitments to international human rights treaties. Others see it as the latest chapter in an ongoing process of Russian disengagement from the post-Cold War European order.
For Russian citizens, especially those detained in prisons, colonies, and other facilities, the loss of external oversight represents a potentially grave setback. In the past, CPT reports and visits have brought attention to overcrowding, abuse, and substandard conditions in Russian detention centers, sometimes prompting reforms or at least public debate. Without such scrutiny, advocates fear that abuses could become even harder to document and address.
As the international community takes stock of Russia’s decision, the future of human rights protection in Europe appears increasingly uncertain. The unraveling of longstanding agreements and the erosion of cooperative mechanisms threaten to leave vulnerable populations at greater risk, even as official assurances of continued commitment ring hollow for many observers. The story of Russia and the anti-torture convention is, in many ways, a microcosm of the broader geopolitical and moral rifts that have deepened in the wake of the war in Ukraine—and it remains to be seen what, if any, new safeguards will emerge to fill the void.
