Russia’s State Duma has unanimously approved a law denouncing the European Convention on the Prevention of Torture, completing Moscow’s withdrawal from the treaty three years after leaving the Council of Europe. Russia originally signed the convention in 1996 upon joining the Council of Europe, and the document entered into force for Moscow two years later. According to the explanatory note attached to the bill, Russia has not been represented in the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture since 2023. The process of electing a Russian member was blocked by the Council of Europe, despite the principle of cooperation stipulated in the convention. The convention focused on preventing torture in relation to prisoners.