The Council of Europe is “concerned about the lack of progress in investigations” by Russia into torture and ill-treatment to extract confessions

The UN Human Rights Committee in Geneva and the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg completed sessions at which Russia's fulfillment of international obligations to protect human rights was considered. The Council of Europe announced the lack of progress in the investigation by Russian authorities into the use of torture and ill-treatment of prisoners in order to obtain confessions, Kommersantwrote on Wednesday.

The UN Committee discussed with the Russian delegation the situation in Crimea, the case of the Ukrainian pilot Nadezhda Savchenko and the investigation into the murders of Boris Nemtsov, Anna Politkovskaya and Natalya Estemirova, and with human rights activists from Russia - the facts of increasing pressure on civil society.

According to the publication, the Committee of Ministers of the Council published new decisions adopted on March 11 and 12 at a session to consider issues on the state of implementation of ECHR decisions by the governments of Russia, Ukraine and another 14 of 47 countries. The implementation by the Russian side of the ECHR rulings in five high-profile cases was examined. In particular, the new decision concerns Russia’s obligations in the group of cases “Mikheev v. Russia”, in which a decision was made to prohibit the use of torture and degrading treatment in criminal proceedings in order to extract confessions.

The Council of Europe is “concerned by the lack of progress in investigations” into such cases. Russia is required to provide information on such investigations and on the payment of compensation awarded by the ECHR.

The Committee of Ministers decision calls on the Russian authorities to state “firmly and clearly, at a high political level” that “police brutality and the extraction of confessions through illegal means will no longer be tolerated.” Russia is also being asked to provide official monitoring of abuse incidents and the number of complaints, as well as Investigative Committee decisions not to prosecute such cases. Russia is also asked to strengthen its legislative framework so that “abuses by law enforcement officers are dealt with quickly and they do not escape punishment.”