CAT/C/RUS/CO/6 Human rights defenders and journalists 28. The Committee is concerned at reported cases of harassment, abduction, arbitrary detention, torture, ill-treatment and killings of human rights defenders, lawyers, journalists and political opponents and the lack of effective investigation into such acts, including in the high-profile cases of the killing in 2006 of Anna Politkovskaya and the killing in 2009 of Natalia Estemirova. Recalling its letters sent to the State party on 17 and 28 May 2013 concerning an administrative case brought against the Memorial Centre and the Public Verdict Foundation, the Committee regrets that the prosecutor’s office is reported to have referred to the submission in 2012 of alternative reports to the Committee by those organizations as a political activity and justified their registration as “foreign agents”. In this regard, the Committee is concerned at consistent reports that the “foreign agent law” and the “undesirable foreign and international organizations law” are often used as a means of administrative harassment against human rights organizations, forcing them to reduce and eventually cease their activities (arts. 2, 11, 12, 13 and 16). 29. The State party should, as a matter of urgency: (a) Ensure that human rights organizations can conduct their work and activities freely in the State party; (b) Take measures to protect human rights defenders, lawyers and journalists from harassment and attacks, investigate all reported instances of such acts, prosecute and punish the perpetrators and guarantee redress, including effective remedies and adequate compensation, to victims and their families; (c) Ensure that human rights defenders, journalists and lawyers are not subjected to reprisals, including administrative harassment, for their communication with or provision of information to the United Nations treaty bodies, including the Committee, as previously recommended (see CAT/C/RUS/CO/5, para. 12 (b)). Violence against women 30. While taking note of the explanation provided by the delegation, the Committee is concerned at the absence of a definition of domestic violence in the State party’s legislation and the recent amendment to article 116 of the Code of Criminal Procedure which renders certain types of domestic violence an administrative, rather than a criminal, offence for first-time offenders, despite the substantial increase in the reported cases of domestic violence. It is also concerned at reports that police officers are often unwilling to register complaints of domestic violence and even discourage victims from submitting them, and that victims continue to be compelled to participate in reconciliation processes with the perpetrators. The Committee notes with concern that the conviction rate in rape cases is very low and that articles 75 and 76 of the Criminal Code may allow first-time perpetrators of rape or sexual assault to escape liability upon marriage or settlement with victims. The Committee is concerned that honour killings and bride kidnapping still persist in the northern Caucasus, particularly in Chechnya, Dagestan and Ingushetia, and that perpetrators are rarely brought to justice, providing an exculpatory legal basis for perpetrators to remain unpunished (arts. 2, 12, 13, 14 and 16). 31. The State party should define domestic violence in its legislation in accordance with international standards and take measures to facilitate the prosecution of perpetrators of domestic violence under criminal law. It should also ensure that all allegations of violence against women, committed through acts or omissions by State agents and others who engage the State’s responsibility under the Convention, are registered by police and promptly, impartially and effectively investigated and that perpetrators are prosecuted and, if found responsible, punished. The State party should also take the necessary protective measures to guarantee the safety of the victims. Attacks against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons 32. The Committee is concerned at consistent reports that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons are subjected to violence because of their sexual 7