PACE has said that the human rights situation in the North Caucasus remains “one of the most serious in the entire geographical area covered by the Council of Europe”.
In a resolution, the Assembly said reports of large-scale abductions, secret detentions, torture and even extrajudicial killings of LGBT persons in Chechnya were a “a new and particularly grave concern” and called for a special investigation into this matter.
The Assembly said the authorities in Chechnya “continue to nurture a climate of pervading fear in an atmosphere of personalisation of power”.
It pointed to an ongoing climate of impunity, pressure on journalists and NGOs, a deteriorating situation for women and girls, and a failure to implement Strasbourg Court rulings involving Chechnya.
