Voltar Council of Europe anti-torture Committee visits the Russian Federation

A delegation of the Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) recently carried out a one-week visit to the Russian Federation.

The main purpose of the visit, which began on 13 April 2010, was to hold high-level talks with the Russian authorities on issues of common interest. After 19 visits to the Russian Federation, the CPT considered it important to review the state of its dialogue with the Russian authorities and to have an exchange of views on progress made towards implementation of the most important recommendations made by the Committee in the past. The aim of the visit was also to take stock of new developments in areas falling under the CPT’s mandate, in particular the proposed reforms of the penitentiary system and the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

In the course of the visit, the CPT’s delegation met Vasiliy LIHACHEV and Alexander SMIRNOV, Deputy Ministers of Justice, Alexander YAKOVENKO, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Alexander REIMER, Director of the Federal Service for the Execution of Sentences, and representatives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the General Prosecutor’s Office and the Investigation Committee. Further, the delegation held consultations with Vladimir LUKIN, Human Rights Commissioner of the Russian Federation, Ella PAMFILOVA, Chairperson of the Presidential Council for the Promotion of Civil Society Institutions and Human Rights, and Sergey KATYRIN, Vice-President of the Council of the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation.

In addition, the delegation met representatives of the Public Monitoring Commission for Moscow City and non-governmental organisations active in areas of concern to the CPT.

The visit was carried out by the following members of the CPT:

  • Mauro PALMA (Italian), President of the CPT and Head of delegation
  • Marzena KSEL (Polish)
  • James McMANUS (British).

They were supported by Petya NESTOROVA, Head of Division in the CPT's Secretariat.

As part of the visit, the CPT’s delegation visited the following places of deprivation of liberty in Moscow City:

  • Pre-trial establishment (SIZO) No. 77/1 (“Matrosskaya Tishina”)
  • SIZO No. 77/2 (“Butyrka”)
  • Federal-purpose SIZO No. 1 (located on the territory of “Matrosskaya Tishina”)
  • Federal-purpose SIZO No. 2 (“Lefortovo”)
  • Temporary Detention Facility (IVS) of the Internal Affairs Directorate of the South-Western Administrative District
  • Cheremushki District Division of Internal Affairs
  • Obruchevskyi District Division of Internal Affairs.

 

26/04/2010
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