President Vladimir Putin on Monday signed a law to pull Russia out of a European anti-torture convention, as Moscow extricates itself from Western bodies it was kicked out of or quit over its offensive on Ukraine.
Russia was expelled from the Council of Europe in March 2022, though it had technically remained a party to its European Convention for the Prevention of Torture.
On Monday, Putin signed a law denouncing the convention.
Explanatory notes to the law, which was passed earlier by Russia’s parliament, accused the Council of Europe of “discrimination” by refusing to appoint a Russian representative to statutory bodies.
Russia’s foreign ministry said last month that pulling out of the convention would not “harm” Russian citizens and that Russia “remains committed to its international human-rights obligations.”
