The use of enforced disappearances to repress political opposition and dissident voices in the Russian Federation is well documented. Less documented is a bureaucratic tool that makes many of these enforced disappearances possible – the legal framework (or “legal black hole”) of Russia’s prisoner transfer system.
An examination of the enforced disappearance of political prisoners during prisoner transfers, when they are most vulnerable, sheds light on the way in which the Kremlin co-opts public institutions and legal loopholes to repress dissent and consolidate power.
New report by International Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR), State Capture: Research and Action, and European Prison Litigation Network (EPLN) analyses Russia’s relevant legal framework, some notable cases, and relevant international legal obligations to bring this issue to the fore. It is hoped that this report will serve as evidence for future human rights cases, reports, and calls for legal and political reform in Russia.