Source: HRO.org (info), 18/09/12

· Prisoners  · Ministry of Internal Affairs

A new website has been set up to combat cruel and degrading treatment in places of detention. Materials on the site are targeted at members of public monitoring commissions, and employees of regional ombudsmen and human rights organisations.

The site is called Russia without Torture and can be accessed at http://www.antipytki.ru. Its creators stress that the site can be used by anyone who is actively involved in monitoring human rights in places of detention.

The site was created as part of the project “Public control as an effective warning mechanism for human rights violations in places of detention. The Russian model.” The project is being implemented under the auspices of the Commissioner for Human Rights in the Russian Federation and the Council of Europe’s Directorate on Human Rights and Anti-discrimination.

As part of the project, public monitoring committee resource centres are being set up in every federal district. A Public Monitor Handbook has been prepared, which contains information on the public monitoring committees and corresponding regional state and public organisations. The handbook will be published in September and will be distributed through the public monitoring committee resource centres. Topical seminars, roundtables and training sessions will be held for members of the public monitoring committees and representatives of the regional human rights commissioners. International experts from Moscow, Barnaul, St. Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod and other regions will be taking part in these events.

The site contains sections entitled “In the regions,” “Russian and international norms and standards,” “International experience,” “Publications,” “Methods and leadership,” and “Discussions.”

The project’s partners include the Moscow Helsinki Group, the Independent Psychiatric Association, the Centre for Prison Reform, the Association of Independent Observers, the Human Rights Institute, Penal Reform International, the Committee for Civil Rights, the Public Verdict Foundation, the AGORA Human Rights Association, the Committee Against Torture, the Social Partnership Foundation, the Council of Public Monitoring Commissions, and the Perm Regional Human Rights Centre.