Siberia Without Torture
Siberia Without Torture, established in 2014, monitors cases of torture and inhumane treatment allegedly perpetrated by the state bodies in the Irkutsk region. Since its inception, the organisation has reviewed more than 500 complaints of torture and inhumane treatment, successfully opened 11 criminal cases and held seven law enforcement officers accountable for their actions. Between 2018 and 2019, the organisation operated thanks to the support of a grant received from the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture. The head of the organisation, Sviatoslav Hromenkov, has been a regional partner of the national group Public Verdict Foundation since 2010, and is a board member of the European Prison Litigation Network.
The environment for the work of human rights defenders (HRDs) in the Russian Federation is difficult, especially for those who defend and promote the rights of LGBTI people, ethnic and religious minorities, refugees, as well as activists of the North Caucasus and the unlawfully annexed Crimean Peninsula.
