Secretary General: Russia leaving the Council of Europe would be a “huge setback” for human rights

Answering a question from a PACE member relating to Russia’s continued non-payment of its budget contributions, Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland warned that if Russia were to leave the organisation, its citizens would no longer have access to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHtR). Mr Jagland said this would be a “huge setback” for human rights in Russia, and cited a major improvement in prison conditions and a fall in the number of inmates, largely due to the many human rights cases brought by Russian prisoners to the ECHtR. More...