COMMITTEE AGAINST TORTURE BEGINS REVIEW OF REPORT OF RUSSIAN FEDERATION

The Committee against Torture this morning began its consideration of the fourth periodic report of the Russian Federation on the efforts of that country to give effect to the provisions of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

Introducing the report, Valery Loshchinin, Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the United Nations Office at Geneva, recalled that the Russian Federation was party to virtually all universal human rights treaties and had been working with all treaty bodies. In recent years leadership in the Russian Federation had been showing particular attention to the non-admissibility of torture and other forms of cruel and inhuman treatment and other forms of punishment. In general, the efforts of the Government of the Russian Federation to prevent acts of torture had been carried out in close cooperation with civil society.

Serving as Rapporteur for the report of the Russian Federation, Committee Expert Felice Gaer asked for additional information on the investigation currently underway into the death of Anna Politkovskaya. Information was also sought on the case of the extradition of a Chechen national arrested in August this year in Crimea, as indicated in the last article Ms. Politkoviskaya published. Ms. Gaer also asked for information on the Russian presence in Chechnya and the status of Russian troops and local agencies under Federal control in the Republic. In particular information was sought on which agency was responsible for investigating cases of torture in the region, and on wrongful detention. Generally, she asked what steps were being taken to investigate torture and correcting practices, and measures to validate detention to ensure that all persons entering prison were registered.

Essadia Belmir, the Committee Expert serving as Co-Rapporteur for the report of the Russian Federation, noted positively that the Russian Federation had taken important steps to reform its legal system in line with the Convention. Among other things, she asked for information on the impact of imposed states of emergency on the situation of human rights in the Russian Federation. While referring to the law in the Russian Federation indicating that any person by the age of 16 years of age may be held liable for acts of criminal torture, she asked for additional information on judicial reform measures concerning the treatment of minors in detention centres.

Also representing the delegation from the Russian Federation were representatives from the Federal Service for the Execution of Sentences; the Ministry of Defence; the Ministry of the Interior; the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; and the Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the United Nations Office at Geneva.

The Committee will continue posing questions to the delegation this afternoon at 5 p.m. The delegation will return to the Committee at 3 p.m. on Monday, 13 November, to provide its responses to the questions raised today.

The Russian Federation is among the 142 States parties to the Convention and as such it must present periodic reports to the Committee on how it is implementing the provisions of the Convention.

The Committee will issue its final observations and recommendations on the report of the Russian Federation when it concludes its session on 24 November.

When the Committee reconvenes at 3 p.m. this afternoon, it will hear the answers of Burundi to the questions posed by Experts on Thursday, 9 November.

Report of Russian Federation

The fourth periodic report of the Russian Federation (CAT/C/55/Add.11), which covers the period 2000-2004 and contains a description of developments since the submission of the third periodic report in 2001, refers to the entering into force in July 2002 of the new Code of Criminal Procedure which, among other things, bans the use of force and torture on actions and decisions that are degrading to persons involved in criminal proceedings and on treatment that degrades their human dignity or endangers their life and health.

With regard to the situation in the Chechen Republic, the report notes that the legal basis for the counter-terrorism operation being conducted there is to be found in Federal Act No. 130-FZ of 25 June 1998, on efforts to combat terrorism. It further notes that during 2001-2002 the Act was reviewed by legal experts in a joint working group composed of Russian specialists and experts from the European Union, and was recognized as being fully consistent with the requirements of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. The report further notes that while military operations are being carried out and legitimate authorities and constitutional order are being established in the Chechen Republic, there was a need to ensure public order and security and for respect of fundamental civil rights and freedoms by the law.

Since the counter-terrorism operations began, the military procurator’s office has opened 191 criminal cases concerning offences committed by military personnel against Chechen civilians, the report states. To date, a total of 74 soldiers, including 12 officers, have been found guilty by the military courts of offences committed against residents of the Chechen Republic. Finally, the report indicates that a major step in the reform of the prison system by the Ministry of Justice was the establishment, pursuant to the recommendations of the Citizens Forum held in Moscow in 2001, of special services to monitor the human rights of detainees. These services are supposed to focus on the activities of institutions within the penal correction system on the practical guaranteeing of the legitimate interests of convicts deprived of their liberty and persons in pretrial detention.

Presentation of Report

VALERY LOSHCHININ, Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the United Nations Office at Geneva, recalled that the Russian Federation was party to virtually all universal human rights treaties and had been working with all treaty bodies. In recent years leadership in the Russian Federation had been showing particular attention to the non- admissibility of torture and other forms of cruel and inhuman treatment and other forms of punishment.

The Russian Federation had also been making active use of the recommendations put forth by the Committee in reforming its own laws and practices, he said. The State party had taken a number of serious and effective measures to implement the recommendations of the Committee. There was incorporation in Russian legislation of the definition of torture. Moreover, domestic legislation embraced a broader interpretation for the definition of torture than that found in the actual Convention, and, therefore, it was not in complete accordance with article one of the Convention.

The Russian Criminal Code extended responsibility of torture to any person who had reached the age of 16, Mr. Loshchinin noted. The use of torture to force confessions or evidence was considered a crime in the Russian Federation and called for severe punishment. In 2004, a federal law was adopted to protect witnesses in criminal proceedings and set safe guards and ensured social support for victims of torture. In short, there were a number of basic standards to protect victims of torture. The criminal procedural code set severe sentences for people accused of carrying out these types of crimes. A person could be held for up to 30 days after a decision was handed down.

In the legal practice in the Russian Federation detention for citizens for verifying information was inadmissible, the head of the delegation stated. The State party based its laws on the principle that the Convention could not be limited under any circumstances, including in cases dealing with counter-terrorism measures. It was recalled that in March 2006 there was a new law on counter-terrorism which set conditions for detention allowed for terrorism suspects.

In recent years a number of measures had been adopted to improve conditions of detention, Mr. Loshchinin said. In 2005, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Justice decreed a law aimed at improving medical services for those being held in corrective institutions. Particular attention was being paid to detention sentences for women and minors. The Russian Federation had adopted a programme for 2007 to 2017 aimed at addressing the needs of those deprived of their liberty in detention to ensure that their human rights were brought in line with the laws of the State. A large budget had been earmarked in accordance with this programme to, among other things, improve the conditions and to reconstruct holding cells. The objective was to improve the conditions for more than 32,000 prisoners being held in the Russian Federation.

Mr. Loshchinin also noted that measures were being taken to install a system of juvenile justice and the creation of juvenile courts. Moreover, there was an overhaul underway with regard to the military justice system and to address the phenomenon of “hazing” in the military, which sometimes amounted to acts of torture.

In general, the efforts of the Government of the Russian Federation to prevent acts of torture had been carried out in close cooperation with civil society, he noted. Referring to the death of the prominent human rights activist Anna Politkovskaya, he recalled that there were allegations that she was collecting information insinuating that torture was taking place in certain centres in the Caucus region. Criminal proceedings in this case were no longer being handled by Moscow, but a prominent prosecutor was following up on the case.

Referring to the planned trip of Manfred Nowak, the Special Rapporteur for torture, to the Russian Federation, Mr. Loshchinin noted that, despite certain administrative setbacks, his country had been working to plan Mr. Nowak’s visit for the near future.

Response by Delegation to Questions Sent by the Committee in Advance

Responding to a series of written questions prepared by the Committee in advance and sent to the State party beforehand, another member of the delegation noted that as a result of the administrative reform in the Russian Federation, a number of priority areas had been determined in the sphere of ensuring citizens rights and the State had enforced a number of laws in that regard.

In the course of work being done to improve its legislation, a number of new amendments had been introduced to improve living conditions and provide basic services for prisoners, including for food norms. With a view to improving conditions for women in detention, a number of changes had been made as well. There was a prohibition in place for transferring convict women from one prison to another.

As to juvenile offenders, minors who carried out severe crimes such as murder could be held for up to ten years, the delegation noted. If the offence was not severe, there was no detention. A minor who had been convicted for a serious crime may be acquitted or released from a juvenile detention centre by a court and placed in another form of juvenile institution where the juvenile received education. At present, there were some 14,500 juvenile delinquents in these institutions. In 2005, the criminal inspectorate had counted more than 96,000 minors who had received some form of sentence. Of that figure, only four per cent were actually serving a sentence in a detention centre.

Measures were being taken to guarantee recreational activities for all convicts, the delegation noted. It was recalled that there were 765 corrective centres in the Russian Federation in which there were some 693,000 being held. More than 14,000 additional places were recently created to accommodate new criminal offenders. At present, an average detention cell was less than one square metre per person; as per a new law, the State sought to increase the cell size to 3.8 square metres by 2008.

The State had also taken a number of steps to ensure that proper medical assistance was afforded to all people being held in detention centres in accordance with international standards, in terms of diagnosis and treatment, the delegation said. It was recalled that the mortality indicator for convicts was three times lower than compared to the overall population.

In 2005 and 2006, the armed forces in the Russian Federation had taken a number of measures to improve problems of misconduct, although “hazing” or bullying was still considered a problem, the delegation noted. A special military unit had been developed to address such issues. Military courts and military prosecuting offices had also been working closely to ensure that laws were upheld to guarantee human rights. There was a problem in terms of a lack of discipline by commanding officers in certain cases. A draft federal law had been developed on the procedures to be used to allow disciplinary procedures for soldiers; this draft law was currently before the State Duma for its consideration. If a soldier carried out a serious offence the person was subjected to a military court decision. Out of the 66,224 soldiers brought before military courts, some 21,000 were convicted by military courts.

In terms of inspections and oversight, the delegation noted that in 2005 and 2006 a number of joint visits were carried out to several detention facilities administered by the Ministry of Interior. As a means to improve living conditions for prisoners in Chechnya, the State had refurbished detention facilities in the region. Other efforts were underway to enhance and improve other services in Chechnya.

Concerning the ban on the use of evidence obtained by torture, the delegation noted that under the Russian Criminal Code this evidence was inadmissible. Any accused and convicted persons had the opportunity to testify whether they had been tortured whilst under investigation. In 2003 and 2004 the military had registered 597 complaints on illegal methods of investigation, eight of which were dealt with. Any confirmed act was punishable by a sentence of two to eight years in prison. In 2004 3,635 prison or police staff were questioned for wrongdoing of this type and 76 were released from their duties. In 2005, 4,850 were brought to court and 72 released from their duties.

The delegation reported that the death penalty had not been used in the Russian Federation since 1996. Under existing Russian legislation there was no special provision banning the extradition of persons to countries were they might be subjected to torture. However, under the Minsk Convention there were diplomatic assurances by which the Russian Federation was obligated to withhold any extradition if deemed hazardous to the victim.

In response to a question on juvenile courts, the delegation said there were at present a number of juvenile courts in the Russian Federation which were specialized in handling criminal and civil cases for minors.

Questions Raised by Committee Experts

FELICE GAER, the Committee Expert serving as Rapporteur for the Report of the Russian Federation, asked for additional information on the removal of the three defence lawyers in a particular case as well as information on visits by Ministry of Interior officials to Chechnya and whether the State intended to publish the findings of this report.

In terms of cases of extradition, she asked for further information on the State’s policies and, in particular, the case of 14 ethnic Uzbeks in June 2005 who were accused of having taken part in the events in Andijan in May 2005. She asked what procedures were taken by the State to prevent them from being subjected to any form of torture and what measures existed to assess the risk of torture in such cases.

The Rapporteur also asked for additional information with regard to domestic violence against women; witness protection programmes for victims of torture; effectiveness of investigations of torture and whether there had been any modifications on the promotion of the law enforcement system in that connection.

Concerning the case of Anna Politkovskaya, she asked for additional information on the investigation currently underway. Information was also sought on the case of the extradition of a Chechen national arrested in August this year in Crimea, as indicated in the last article Ms. Politkovskaya published.

Ms. Gaer also asked for information on the Russian presence in Chechnya and the status of Russian troops and local agencies under Federal control in the Republic. In particular information was sought on which agency was responsible for investigating cases of torture in the region, and on wrongful detention.

Generally, she asked what steps were being taken to investigate torture and other practices, and measures to validate detention to ensure that all persons entering prison were registered.

With regard to the visit of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on torture, Manfred Nowak, she asked for clarification on what laws he would allegedly break if he conducted his mission.

While referring to a particular case of an individual who was allegedly tortured by police and forced to admit a plea of guilty to murder, she asked for clarification on what guarantees were in place for oversight.

Information was also sought on the State’s counter-terrorism operations as it applied to the Convention; alleged hostage taking or kidnapping instances of family members of terror suspects; medical exams for prisoners; and any cases against an official for not bringing an alleged torture case forward.

ESSADIA BELMIR, the Committee Expert serving as Co-Rapporteur for the report of the Russian Federation, noted positively that the Russian Federation had taken important steps to reform its legal system in line with the Convention.

Among other things, she asked for information on the impact of imposed states of emergency on the situation of human rights in the Russian Federation. While referring to the law in the Russian Federation indicating that any person above the age of 16 years of age may be held liable for acts of criminal torture, she asked for additional information on judicial reform measures concerning the treatment of minors in detention centres.