(2021-2022), the cases concerning ill-treatment by State agents and/or failure to investigate such allegations represented 12 % of all leading cases in this procedure, making it the biggest category of cases coming under such type of supervision.

5. The CPT, in the exercise of its mandate, continues to encounter cases of police ill-treatment in a number of States Parties, under various circumstances and involving different law enforcement agencies. It also continues to receive credible allegations of deliberate physical ill-treatment by prison staff in penitentiary establishments, often applied with a punitive purpose. In some cases, the alleged ill-treatment could be qualified as torture. The CPT has sometimes referred in its reports to the systemic or widespread nature of the problem, or to the existence of a pattern, with regard to certain States. This is particularly worrying and indicates that these States do not properly implement the CPT recommendations, repeatedly violate Article 3 of the Convention and do not take the appropriate general measures aimed at eliminating the underlying causes of the problem. Although many States have incorporated the Convention and the CPT standards in their legislation, the practical implementation of these safeguards remains problematic.

6. The Assembly is alarmed about credible reports suggesting that torture and other forms of ill-treatment tend to be systemic and/or widespread in States such as the Russian Federation, Azerbaijan and Türkiye.

6.1. With regard to the Russian Federation, the Assembly commends the work of the human rights organisation Gulagu.net which has published hundreds of videos and photos of torture and ill-treatment in Russian prisons, often leaked by former prisoners and prisoner employees, some of whom had to flee the Russian Federation for fear of persecution. It is particularly struck by the number and gravity of incidents of rape and other forms of ill-treatment of male inmates at a prison hospital in Saratov, a case which illustrates how videos of torture and rape were used by the federal penitentiary officers to blackmail prisoners or force them to become informal prison agents and even torture other prisoners themselves, a phenomenon known as “torture conveyors”. These revelations led to dismissals and criminal proceedings against some of the officials managing the relevant institutions, and the recognition by the authorities of the need for systemic measures to change the situation. It is also impossible to ignore the torture and inhuman treatment of Ukrainian civil and political prisoners and prisoners of war in Russian prisons and in other places of detention on the temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories.

6.2. The Assembly is also deeply concerned about reports concerning Azerbaijan. In particular, it has been reported that in the context of the “Terter cases” (torture of a group of military personnel and civilians by the Azerbaijani military), many of those detained in 2017 were subjected to torture and inhuman treatment, with 10 confirmed deaths as a result of that torture. Detainees were tortured with the purpose of extracting confessions of treason. The Assembly is appalled by the horrendous methods of torture reported: electric shocks, pulling out nails, waterboarding, blindfolding, removal of genitals, rape, threats of rape of family members, among others. While some of those detained and originally convicted have now been acquitted and released, others remain in prison. It has also been reported that no high-ranking officials have been held to account for the use of torture in these cases. Separate to the “Terter cases”, some reports indicate that torture and other forms of ill-treatment have been used against members of the political opposition, journalists and human rights defenders.

6.3. With regard to Türkiye, the Assembly is also concerned about reports indicating that despite the “zero tolerance” message given by the authorities, there has been a rise in the use of torture and ill-treatment in police custody and prison over the past years, overshadowing Türkiye’s earlier progress in this area. The Assembly welcomes recent decisions delivered by the Constitutional Court finding violations of the prohibition of ill-treatment and ordering new investigations into complaints and encourages other domestic courts to follow this case law.

7. The Assembly strongly condemns the systemic or widespread use of torture and other forms of ill-treatment in certain Council of Europe member States and the Russian Federation. It considers that this practice not only violates the absolute prohibition of Article 3 of the Convention but also undermines the rule of law, democracy and the fundamental values which the Council of Europe stands for. The Assembly is convinced that strengthened action is needed to prevent and eradicate torture and ill-treatment in places of detention in Europe in general, and to make it a torture-free zone. The culture of “zero tolerance” towards torture and ill-treatment needs to have specific content and must not be just a declaration of intent.

8. The Assembly therefore calls on member States and States Parties to the CPT Convention to:

8.1. review their national legislation to ensure that torture and other forms of ill-treatment are included as self-standing offences, in accordance with the definition provided for in international treaties and the case law of the Court, with proportionate and dissuasive sanctions;

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