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The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) published a report today on its periodic visit to Liechtenstein, carried out from 7 to 11 April 2025, and the response of the Liechtenstein authorities.

Argentina Seeks Extradition in Crimes against Humanity Case - Argentina’s efforts to extradite and question a former Venezuelan official residing in Spain accused of crimes against humanity could offer a pathway toward accountability, Human Rights Watch said today, following Spanish authorities’ reported decision to continue proceedings on the extradition request.

The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) carried out its tenth periodic visit to the United Kingdom from 11 to 22 May 2026.

On 15 May, the 46 Council of Europe states adopted the Chișinău Declaration on the ECHR and migration. The Declaration, which follows several extraordinary meetings of the Steering Committee on Human Rights, does not echo the express criticism of the ECtHR’s case law contained in the Letter of 9 and the Joint Statement of 27 States.

The Algerian authorities must immediately and unconditionally release all arbitrarily detained journalists targeted for exercising their right to freedom of expression, including Abdelwakil Blamm, Hassan Bouras and Christophe Gleizes, Amnesty International said today. The call comes ahead of the 14 May trial of Abdelwakil Blamm on bogus terrorism charges, amid the Algerian authorities’ misuse of the criminal justice system to punish independent critical media voices.

Amnesty International and Human Rights First today published a joint letter to Poland’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior urging an end to the Polish government’s cooperation with the US administration’s unlawful mass deportations of immigrant communities. According to information gathered by Amnesty International and Human Rights First, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) passed through Polish airports and travelled through Polish territory during at least two operations to remove more than 50 people to Ukraine – an active war zone – in November 2025 and March 2026.

The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) carried out an ad hoc visit to Portugal from 14 to 24 April 2026, focusing on social care.

At his first international press conference, Hungary’s prime minister-elect Péter Magyar pledged to reverse his country’s move to leave the International Criminal Court (ICC). Magyar won a landslide victory in Hungary’s April 12 election, where he campaigned, among other things, on restoring rule of law and ties with the EU, opposing former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. Today, ICC membership is required of EU candidate countries in order to accede to the EU which has made legally binding commitments to promote and protect the court. Magyar acknowledged that it is in Hungary’s interest to remain an ICC member, echoing earlier calls by Hungarian lawyers that the withdrawal would tarnish Hungary’s global standing.

The CPT today published the report of its ad hoc visit to Serbia (14–22 November and 13–18 December 2024), which examined the conditions of detention and treatment of persons held in juvenile educational-correctional detention facilities, and adult and child psychiatric establishments (both forensic and civil). The focus of the visit was on the physical safety of the children held in the Juvenile Educational-Correctional Facility of Kruševac, as well as the situation of child and adult patients treated in various psychiatric clinics: the Special Prison Hospital, Laza Lazarević Clinic and Adolescent Unit, and the Clinic for Children and Adolescents, in Belgrade, and the Special Hospital in Kovin.

The International Criminal Court (ICC)’s confirmation on April 23, 2026, of all crimes against humanity charges against former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is a major step toward justice for the victims of the country’s “war on drugs,” Human Rights Watch said today.

(Budapest) – The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruling on April 21, 2026, against Hungary’s 2021 anti-LGBT law is an important rejection of efforts to stigmatize lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people, Human Rights Watch said today. The court found that the 2021 law, which attempts to stigmatize LGBT people under the guise of “child protection,” breaches EU law and underscored that such discrimination has no place in the EU.

Belarusian authorities are systematically using vaguely defined “extremism” laws to target dissent, including Belarusians in exile. Most recently, on April 14, the Belarusian Supreme Court designated the Lithuania-based European Humanities University an “extremist organization,” claiming it was “destabilizing the sociopolitical situation in the country.” This exposes thousands of current and former students and professors, the majority of them Belarusian, to criminal prosecution in absentia or in Belarus for teaching, attending classes, or having any interaction with the university, even prior to the designation.

The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) has released its 2027 programme of periodic visits. The Committee intends to examine the treatment of persons deprived of their liberty in the following countries: Albania, Andorra, Croatia, Iceland, Latvia, Slovakia, Switzerland, Türkiye

The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) has published today the report on its visit to Ukraine, carried out from 26 May to 6 June 2025, together with the response of the Ukrainian authorities.

The Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT), in a report on its January 2025 periodic visit published today along with the response of the Greek authorities, again calls on Greece to address persistent issues of prison overcrowding, poor detention conditions and staff shortages.

The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) published a report today on its periodic visit to Georgia, carried out from 18 to 29 November 2024 and from 21 to 22 January 2025, and the response of the Georgian authorities.

The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) carried out an ad hoc visit to Albania from 26 January to 2 February 2026 to examine the treatment and conditions of detention of forensic psychiatric patients. To this end, the delegation visited the Lezha Temporary Facility and Tirana Prison Hospital.

Reacting to media reports that states such as Russia, Türkiye and Tajikistan are extensively misusing Interpol red notices to target political dissidents and to repress human rights defenders, Erika Guevara Rosas Senior Director for Research, Advocacy, Policy and Campaigns of Amnesty International said: “Media reports that Interpol red notices are being extensively misused, without internal scrutiny, to target dissidents, critics and activists are deeply concerning. Amnesty International, UN experts and other organizations have raised concerns about states’ misuse of international policing mechanisms for political purposes, and has documented instances of governments engaging in transnational repression of human rights defenders. “Red notices should never be used for political purposes and Interpol must be willing to suspend states who misuse their processes. These reports must be urgently and independently investigated.

The Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) published today its report on its visit of September-October 2024 along with the response of the French authorities.

The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) has published today a report on its ad hoc visit to Hungary, carried out from 25 March to 1 April 2025, together with the response of the Hungarian authorities.

The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) has today published the report on its April 2025 ad hoc visit to Cyprus, together with the response of the Cypriot authorities. During the visit, the Committee examined the treatment and conditions of detention of persons held in Nicosia Central Prisons, several police establishments, the First Reception Centre of Pournara, and the airport holding facility at Larnaca.

The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) carried out an ad hoc visit to the United Kingdom from 1 to 8 December 2025 to examine the treatment and conditions of detention of women held in two prisons in England and Wales.

The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) has published today a report on the situation in Moldovan prisons, following its June 2025 visit to the country.

The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) has published today the report on its ad hoc visit to Austria, carried out from 18 to 28 March 2025, together with the response of the Austrian authorities.

On 30 October 2025, the Russian authorities officially informed the Council of Europe that they were denouncing the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (ECPT). The denunciation was registered with an entry into force of 1 November 2026 as under Article 22, paragraph 2, of the ECPT, the Russian Federation remains bound by the ECPT for another year.

The Supreme Court (SC) En Banc has approved the Rules on Extradition Proceedings (Rules) in a Resolution dated April 8, 2025, in A.M. No. 22-03-29-SC. The Rules aim to make extradition proceedings consistent, clear, and efficient, which include applications for warrants of arrest, hold departure orders, and bail.

The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) has today published the report on its visit to Portugal, which took place from 20 to 27 November 2024, together with the response of the Portuguese Government. During the visit, the CPT examined the treatment afforded to persons deprived of their liberty by the Public Security Police (PSP), the National Republican Guard (GNR) and the Judicial Police (JP). It also looked into the effectiveness of disciplinary and criminal investigations into possible cases of ill-treatment by law enforcement officials.

The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) has published today the report on its ad hoc visit to Romania, carried out from 30 September to 11 October 2024, together with the response of the Romanian authorities.

The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) carried out an ad hoc visit to Italy from 1 to 12 September 2025 focusing on the situation in prisons.

The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) has published today the response of the Czech authorities to the report on its periodic visit to Czechia, carried out from 16 to 26 April 2024.

The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) has published today the report on its ad hoc visit to Bulgaria, carried out from 16 to 23 September 2024, together with the response of the Bulgarian authorities.

The Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) has published today the report on its visit to the Autonomous Community of Catalonia (Spain), which took place from 25 November to 5 December 2024, together with the response of the Spanish authorities.

The CPT’s sixth periodic visit to Malta in September and October 2023 reviewed the treatment of persons held in prison, immigration detention, and police custody. While the CPT noted progress since earlier visits in 2015 and 2020, a number of concerns remain.

The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) held its 117th plenary meeting from 30 June to 4 July 2025.

The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) has today published the report of its visit to the Netherlands in October 2024, together with the response of the Dutch authorities.

The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) has published today the report on its ad hoc visit to Romania, carried out from 30 September to 11 October 2024, together with the response of the Romanian authorities.

The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) carried out its 8th periodic visit to Belgium from 15 to 26 May 2025.

Republic of Chile acceded to the European Convention on Extradition (ETS No. 24), the Additional Protocol to the European Convention on Extradition (ETS No. 86), and the Second Additional Protocol to the European Convention on Extradition (ETS No. 98). The Convention will enter into force with regard to Chile on 1 June 2025.

The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) has today published the report on its visit to Italy in April 2024, together with the response of the Italian authorities.