Russian President, Vladimir Putin has signed a law finalizing Russia’s withdrawal from the European convention for the prevention of torture.
Russia’s parliament previously voted to leave the treaty, which Moscow ratified in 1998. According to the legislation passed by parliament, Russia’s denunciation was in response to the Council of Europe refusing to seat a Russian representative on a committee that oversees the anti-torture convention.
According to a law signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday, “The European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT), along with its two related protocols, are no longer valid in Russia due to the refusal of the Council of Europe to provide Russia’s representation in the organization’s statutory bodies.”
At the same time, the Russian authorities will continue to combat human rights violations by applying national legislation in this area. “Denounce the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment of November 26, 1987 and Protocols No. 1 and No. 2 of November 4, 1993 thereto, signed on behalf of the Russian Federation in Strasbourg on February 28, 1996,” the newly-signed law reads.
State Duma (the lower house of the Russian Parliament) Speaker, Vyacheslav Volodin pointed out earlier that Russia’s work in the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture “has been blocked by the Council of Europe itself, which has not allowed the election of a new Russian member to the committee since December 2023.”
The explanatory note to the bill stipulated that these “discriminatory circumstances” violate Russia’s representative rights in the European Committee and undermine the mutual monitoring mechanism for compliance with international obligations in the field of torture prevention, “which is why it is proposed to denounce the said convention and its protocols.”
The Russian government previously submitted a proposal to the Russian president on denouncing the convention. Russia, which has been a member of the Council of Europe since 1996, announced its intention to withdraw from it in 2022, after the organization’s Committee of Ministers suspended Moscow’s right to representation in the Council of Europe’s statutory bodies.
At that time, Russia notified the Council’s secretary of its withdrawal and denunciation of the key document of the Council of Europe – the European Convention on Human Rights.
Since that time, Moscow has been gradually denouncing the documents of the Council of Europe, as current circumstances make enforcing them impossible.
At the same time, the Russian authorities have repeatedly stressed that they will not abandon their international obligations to combat crimes and human rights violations, actively enforcing national legislation in this sphere.
Putin Signs Decree On 2025 Autumn Draft
Separately, Putin signed a decree ordering the conscription of citizens for military service from October to December 2025. “From October 1 to December 31, 2025, conscript 135,000 Russian citizens aged 18 to 30 who are not in the reserve and are subject to enlistment into military service,” the decree states.
It also stipulates the discharge from active duty of soldiers, sailors, sergeants, and foremen whose terms of conscription have expired.
The Russian government, regional authorities, and conscription commissions are tasked with ensuring the implementation of all necessary draft measures.
In addition, Federal Ministers, Heads of federal services, and agencies are instructed to organize the conscription of citizens employed by federal ministries, other federal executive bodies, and organizations subordinate to them.
Russia calls up men aged between 18 and 30 for compulsory military service each spring and autumn. According to reports, Russia’s annual conscription campaigns are unrelated to mobilisation, in which Russian men are drafted to fight during wartime.
Conscripts are expected to serve for a year at a military base inside Russia, not to fight in Ukraine, although there have been reports of conscripted men being sent to the frontline.
This is the biggest autumn conscription drive since 2016, and, combined with the 160,000 called up in the spring, means 2025 is set to be the largest total call-up since that year too.
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