“Team Against Torture” released a study, which compiled the first results of changing the article on abuse of power to the article on “coercion to testify,” as torture is euphemistically defined in the Criminal Code.
Most often, the figures in “torture” cases are military personnel—55%, followed by Ministry of Internal Affairs employees—39%, with the Federal Penitentiary Service accounting for only 2.6% of the accused. However, human rights activists believe this does not reflect reality, but rather shows the closed nature of the Federal Penitentiary Service institutions.
The military tend to use violence to maintain order, organize discipline, and as punishment: often, privates are punished by their superiors for poorly washed dishes, leaving their post, consuming alcohol, using drugs, and other “offenses.” Soldiers are punished for violating the daily routine, poor performance of tasks according to the command, and even for discussing the course of the “special military operation.” In the Kursk region, human rights activists found a verdict issued in the summer of 2023. An intoxicated commander, who drank about two bottles of vodka, was dissatisfied with the soldiers' refusal to go to the “SMO” and began shooting randomly at the line and fleeing servicemen. As a result, one of the young men died, and another was moderately injured with a gunshot wound to the thigh.
In almost 65% of cases, torture is committed alone. Three-quarters of those convicted of torture at the time of the crime do not exceed the age of 35.
In 72% of cases, the figures fully or partially admit their guilt—in the latter case, the defendants tend to agree with the fact of violence but dispute the qualification in favor of a less severe charge (for example, from torture to simple use of violence). At the same time, every fifth person tries to justify the torture by the actions of the victim themselves.
Only 20% of torturers are sent to colonies, and the cost of one torture is only 61,000 rubles, with the convicted person required to transfer this amount not to the victim, but to the federal treasury. The average term of real sentences is 3.5 years in a colony.
Official judicial statistics for the period of the existence of the new articles state that only eight people were convicted for the updated “torture” crimes in 2022. The reason is that state representatives continue to use violence, but law enforcers and courts do not consider it torture.
The number of those convicted under the “torture” article has decreased by 72% over the past 15 years. At the same time, the rate of decrease in the total number of convicts in Russia is almost half as much—38%.
The “torture” articles have the highest proportion of acquittals among officials and law enforcement officers—almost 25 times higher than for other articles.
* Recognized in Russia as a “foreign agent.”