Russia: Torture now ‘a tool for repression at home and aggression abroad’

Just ahead of presenting her report to the General Assembly, Mariana Katzarova, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Russian Federation, sat down with UN News’s Nargiz Shekinskaya and underlined that “torture is used as a State sanctioned tool for systematic oppression, to maintain control and to stifle dissent.”

According to her research, this goes beyond isolated cases. Torture is frequently aimed at political prisoners, critics of the ongoing war in Ukraine, and migrant communities worldwide.

Normalisation of torture

One of the report’s most unsettling revelations is the portrayal of torture in Russian media.

The independent expert described the aftermath of a March terrorist attack in Moscow, where members of the Tajik minority “who haven't been tried yet and haven't been found guilty” were tortured through electric shocks and mutilation.

Following the broadcast, there were reports of law enforcement carrying out widespread sweeps, arresting and allegedly abusing migrant workers from Central Asia.

LGBTQIA+ individuals in Chechnya have also received brutal treatment from State officials there. Ms. Katzarova reported that members of the LGBTQIA+ community were systematically detained, tortured, and threatened with death unless they agreed to volunteer as soldiers in Ukraine.

Judicial impunity, no accountability

A key issue raised in the report is the failure of the Russian judicial system to prosecute torture cases adequately. Under Russian law, torture is not classified as a distinct criminal offence, allowing perpetrators to evade justice through lesser charges such as “abuse of power or authority.”

“Here we have a judicial system which is so politically influenced,” she expressed, “that there is no justice for the victims of torture.” Without recourse to the European Court of Human Rights, Russian victims must now rely solely on the UN system, which lacks the authority to pursue legal action.

Ms. Katzarova urged governments worldwide to use their criminal justice systems to prosecute torture cases from Russia under universal jurisdiction, an international principle that allows courts to try cases regardless of where the crime occurred.

The Special Rapporteur like all other independent UN human rights experts. works on a voluntary basis, is not a UN staff member and receives no salary for her work. The experts are appointed by the UN Human Rights Council and are independent from any government or organization.