1. The Committee of Ministers recalls that
the European Convention on Human Rights and the European Convention
for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment
or Punishment, to which all 46 member States are parties, respectively
provide human rights protection and enable monitoring of the situation of
persons detained in Council of Europe member States. It recalls
that any person under the jurisdiction of a member State who considers
that his or her rights protected by the Convention have been violated,
including the right to a fair trial, can lodge an application to
the European Court of Human Rights under the conditions set forth
in the Convention.
2. In the context of supervising the cases pending against the
Russian Federation, the Committee has recently insisted on the urgent
need for the authorities to ensure the release of all prisoners
currently detained in the Russian Federation in abuse of power and
for the purpose of silencing them and deterring other critics of
the regime from protesting or speaking out, bearing in mind the
risks to their health and security as well as the grave consequences
for freedom of expression and political plurality in the Russian
Federation. It also urged them to allow independent international
bodies to monitor the reported political prisoners’ state of health and
conditions of detention, pending their release or re-examination
of their cases.Note At
the Council of Europe Summit in Reykjavík on 15 May 2023, the President
of the Committee of Ministers called for Mr Kara-Murza’s immediate
release as well as the release of all other peaceful civic and political
activists arbitrarily deprived of liberty in Russia.Note
