The Commissioner for Human Rights in the Russian Federation, Tatiana Moskalkova, supports the initiative to tighten responsibility for torture, according to the official website of the Ombudsman. At the same time, Moskalkova believes that some provisions of the bill need to be clarified by the second reading.
The Federal Ombudsman has repeatedly raised the topic of torture because of the resonant events in the penal system that have occurred in recent years in Saratov, Irkutsk and Kirov. Two years ago, a working group was created under the Commissioner, which began preparing proposals for changing the current legislation.
In her 2019 report, Moskalkova recommended criminalizing torture, strengthening civil control and creating an institution of a national preventive mechanism, assigning its functions to the office of the Commissioner for Human Rights.
Recall that on December 20, a bill was introduced in the State Duma, toughening responsibility for torture. In particular, the new provision of the law makes it possible to bring to justice all law enforcement officers, including employees of the Federal Penitentiary Service. Torture for the purpose of coercion to testify or intimidation passes into the category of especially serious.