Following the Committee of Ministers’ Resolution CM/Res(2022)2 of 16 March 2022, the Russian Federation ceased to be a member of the Council of Europe as from 16 March 2022. Resolution CM/Res(2022)3, adopted by the Committee of Ministers on 23 March 2022, further specifies, among other things, that the Russian Federation remains a High Contracting Party to the European Convention on Human Rights until 16 September 2022 and that the Russian Federation will continue to be a Contracting Party to those conventions which are open to accession by non-member States.

In this connection, Alan Mitchell, President of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT), made the following statement:

“In the current situation, I wish to recall that the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment is a convention which is open to accession by non-member States of the Council of Europe and that the Russian Federation thus remains a State Party to this Convention. As such, the Russian authorities must take effective steps to prevent torture and other forms of ill-treatment (contrary to Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights) of persons deprived of their liberty in law enforcement establishments, prisons, military detention facilities, psychiatric hospitals, social care institutions and other places of deprivation of liberty, whether within the territory of the Russian Federation or in areas within the territory of Ukraine of which the Russian Federation exercises effective control.
Furthermore, all Council of Europe member States, as High Contracting Parties to the European Convention on Human Rights, must take appropriate measures, under any circumstances, to ensure that persons deprived of their liberty are not  subjected to any treatment prohibited by Article 3, a non-derogable right under the Convention.”