CAT/C/RUS/CO/6
Fundamental legal safeguards
10.
While noting the procedural guarantees enshrined in the State party’s domestic
legislation, the Committee is concerned at consistent reports that, in practice, fundamental
legal safeguards against torture for detained persons often do not apply from the very outset
of the deprivation of liberty and sometimes are not respected at all. While noting the right
to a legal counsel provided under the Code of Criminal Procedure and Federal Act No. 103
of 15 July 1995, the Committee regrets that legal counsels are reportedly often denied
access to their clients in detention; free legal aid is not always available for indigent persons,
particularly in remote regions; and judges usually do not reject confessions made without a
lawyer present. While noting the delegation’s replies that article 96 (4) of the Code of
Criminal Procedure is applied only under exceptional circumstances, the Committee
remains concerned that detainees may be deprived of their right to notify a relative. While
noting the information provided by the State party on the reform of the prison medical
services in 2015, it is concerned that police and prison doctors reportedly often failed or
refused to conduct a proper and confidential examination of injuries sustained from torture
or ill-treatment and that a prisoner’s request to receive an independent medical examination
was often rejected by the prison administration. The Committee is also concerned at the
lack of information on the central register of detainees and rules governing the use of video
surveillance in places of detention (arts. 2, 12, 13, 15 and 16).
11.
The State party should ensure, in law and in practice, that all detainees are
afforded all fundamental legal safeguards from the outset of the deprivation of liberty,
including the safeguards mentioned in paragraphs 13 and 14 of the Committee’s
general comment No. 2. In particular, it should ensure that:
(a)
All detained persons are able, in practice, to have prompt access to a
qualified independent lawyer or free legal aid, if necessary, especially during police
interrogations; to notify a relative or other person of the detainee’s choice of the
reasons for and place of detention; and to challenge, at any time during the detention,
the legality or necessity of the detention before a magistrate who can order the
detainee’s immediate release and to receive a decision without delay. The State party
should regularly monitor the provision by law enforcement officials of these legal
safeguards, penalize any failure to do so, and compile and submit data on cases in
which officials have been subjected to disciplinary or other measures for failing to
respect the safeguards;
(b)
The right to request and receive a medical examination by an
independent medical doctor is guaranteed from the outset of the deprivation of liberty;
that medical examinations are conducted out of hearing and out of sight of police
officers and prison staff, unless the doctor concerned explicitly requests otherwise;
that the medical record is immediately brought to the attention of a prosecutor
whenever the findings or allegations may indicate torture or ill-treatment; and that
health-care professionals are not exposed to any form of undue pressure or reprisals
when fulfilling their duty;
(c)
All deprivations of liberty are recorded promptly in a comprehensive
central detention register and that all detainees’ family members and their lawyers
have the right to access information in the register regarding that detainee;
(d)
Video recordings of all interrogations are maintained and video
surveillance installed in all areas of custody facilities where detainees may be present,
except in cases where detainees’ right to privacy or to confidential communication
with their lawyer or a doctor may be violated. Such recordings should be kept in
secure facilities, for example in prosecutors’ offices, and made available to
investigators, detainees and their lawyers.
Torture and ill-treatment
12.
The Committee is deeply concerned at numerous reliable reports of the practice of
torture and ill-treatment in the State party, including as a means to extract confessions, and
at many recent reports documenting cases of torture, such as the deaths of Valery
Pshenichny in 2018 and Ruslan Sayfutdinov in 2017. The Committee is also concerned at
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