CAT/C/RUS/CO/6
orientation or gender identity, including physical attacks and other ill-treatment. The
Committee is also concerned at reports that the hate crimes against such persons have
significantly increased since the introduction of the federal law prohibiting “propaganda of
non-traditional sexual relations”. The Committee expresses its particular concern at reports
that during the “anti-gay purge” in March 2017, the Chechen police and military officials
and others arbitrarily detained and tortured with electric devices men presumed to be gay
and encouraged their families to make them victims of honour killings. The Committee is
concerned at reports that Chechen law enforcement officials themselves participated in the
pre-investigation into these allegations and that, as stated by the delegation during the
dialogue, no facts were established and thus no criminal proceeding was opened (arts. 12,
13, 14 and 16).
33.
The State party should:
(a)
Ensure that those responsible for violent attacks and hate crimes against
persons on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity, in particular with
respect to the violent incident in Chechnya in March 2017, are charged, investigated,
prosecuted and, if found responsible, punished;
(b)
Repeal the law prohibiting “propaganda of non-traditional sexual
relations” which promotes stigma and prejudice against lesbian, gay, bisexual,
transgender and intersex persons;
(c)
Provide training to law enforcement officials and the judiciary on
detecting and combating hate-motivated crimes, including those motivated by sexual
orientation or gender identity.
Anti-terrorism measures
34.
The Committee is concerned about consistent reports that provisions of the Criminal
Code on combating terrorism are often used against civil activists, including anti-fascists;
that members of the Federal Security Service routinely use torture to extract confessions
from those accused of terrorist activities; and that no criminal prosecution has been brought
with respect to allegations of torture, including those made by Igor Shishkin, the Azimov
brothers and eight members of the group called “Network” (arts. 2, 11, 12 and 16).
35.
The State party should ensure that any counter-terrorism measures taken
conform to the Convention’s prohibitions against torture and ill-treatment and that
all allegations of torture and ill-treatment of those accused of involvement in terrorist
acts, including the above-mentioned cases, are promptly, impartially and effectively
investigated, and perpetrators are prosecuted and punished appropriately.
Hazing (“dedovschchina”) and torture and ill-treatment within the armed forces
36.
While welcoming the measures taken by the State party to prevent and combat
hazing in the armed forces, including the establishment under the Office of the Chief
Military Procurator of a working group on combating humiliating treatment, regular audits
of military units carried out by military prosecutors’ offices and training provided to senior
officers of the armed forces, the Committee remains concerned at reports that a small
proportion of the reported cases of hazing have led to prosecutions (arts. 2 and 16).
37.
The Committee reiterates its previous recommendation (see CAT/C/RUS/CO/5,
para. 16) that the State party should prevent and eliminate hazing and mistreatment
of conscripts. The State party should ensure prompt, impartial and effective
investigations into all allegations of abuse of conscripts in the army and into all deaths
in this context; prosecute and punish those responsible with appropriate penalties;
publicize the results of these investigations; and provide victims with redress, in
accordance with the Committee’s general comment No. 3 (2012) on the
implementation of article 14.
Conditions of detention
38.
While welcoming the State party’s initiatives to improve the conditions of detention,
including the reform of the prison medical services in 2015, the Committee remains
8