CAT/C/RUS/CO/5
substantial risk that they will be subjected to torture in their countries of origin. The
Committee is also concerned by the reliance of the State party on diplomatic assurances in
such cases (arts. 3, 6 and 7).
The Committee recommends that the State party discontinue the practice of relying
upon diplomatic assurances concerning the extradition and expulsion of persons from
its territory to States where they would face a risk of torture. It also requests the State
party to provide the Committee with the number and type of diplomatic assurances
received during the reporting period and the countries involved, as well as on the
mechanisms in place for obtaining assurances, their content, the number and outcome
of court appeals in such cases, and the existence of removal and post-removal
monitoring mechanisms.
Conditions of detention
18.
While welcoming measures by the State party to reduce the prison population
through use of alternatives to detention and by excluding pretrial detention for a number of
economic crimes, the Committee remains concerned about reports of (a) remaining
overcrowding in detention facilities; (b) the high number of suicides in places of detention;
(c) the lack of independent medical officials available to examine prisoners claiming to be
victims of abuse; (d) long delays experienced by individuals claiming to be victims of
torture seeking a medical forensic examination; (e) lack of adequate psychiatric services
within the penitentiary system; and (f) lack of information about the existing system for
protecting complainants from censorship of their complaints and reprisals (arts. 11 and 16).
The Committee recommends that the State party expand the use of alternative noncustodial measures (Tokyo Rules). The Committee also recommends that (a) all cases
of suicide are effectively investigated, (b) a study be undertaken into the causes of
suicides in detention, and that (c) the Federal Service on the Execution of Penalties
enhance monitoring and detection of at-risk detainees and take preventive measures
regarding the risk of suicide and inter-prisoner violence, including by installing video
cameras, increasing prison staff, and ensuring that prisoners can access adequate and
sufficient psychiatric services. It recommends that rules governing medical
examination of prisoners be amended to ensure that examinations are carried out by
fully independent medical personnel, that complainants are protected from reprisals,
and that their complaints of abuse in detention are not censored by authorities.
Violence against women in detention
19.
The Committee is concerned that, despite information received by the Committee on
violence against women in detention, the State party has registered a very low number of
complaints of such violence. It is also concerned at the absence of information from the
State party on means available for persons deprived of their liberty to make confidential
complaints to independent investigators, and also on the existence of effective safeguards
for the protection of authors of such complaints from reprisals, including transfer to another
facility pending the investigation of their complaints. The Committee is concerned that
individuals convicted of abuse of women in detention are not subjected to appropriate
sanctions (arts. 2, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 16).
The State party shall guarantee the possibility for confidential interviews with all
complainants, taking effective measures to ensure the safety of interviewees, and
ensure that the alleged perpetrators, any co-conspirators, and government actors
found to have acquiesced to or facilitated those crimes, are identified and held
accountable. The State party is also requested to provide information on the incidents
reported, investigations including timely medical examination, charges brought,
charges dropped and convictions obtained, including information on the number of
individuals concerned, if any, who have continued to serve in the same or other penal
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