Prohibition of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment

No one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

Article 4 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union

Under Article 15 of the ECHR, this right is absolute and is not subject to derogation even in times of war.

Text as of March 2026

Based on research and human rights practice, the following problems in the exercise of this right in Ukraine can be distinguished:

Torture and other forms of ill-treatment remain systemic issues in Ukraine, with little progress made on key problematic areas over the past several decades. Courts in other countries have consistently declined to extradite individuals wanted by Ukraine, citing concerns about the risk of torture or other ill-treatment. The case law of the Court of Justice of the EU acknowledges that systemic deficiencies in detention conditions within a Member State can serve as grounds for refusing to execute a European arrest warrant or a European investigation order.
The main issues mentioned in complaints to the ECtHR against Ukraine concern detention conditions in detention facilities, particularly:
- overcrowding;
- inhuman and/or degrading conditions of detention;
- inadequate nutrition and transportation;
- unsanitary conditions;
- unavailability of medical care;
- the presence of internal procedures that systematically fail to meet general standards of treatment;
- inadequate artificial lighting (dim and unstable), lack of daylight;
- insufficient heating and ventilation problems, which lead to dampness in the premises;
- lack of access to drinking water;
- lack of bed linen and underwear, and the ability to wash them outside the cell, and worn mattresses;
- inadequate condition of the sanitary area and privacy issues (partially separated toilets), limited access to showers, etc.;
- lack of out-of-cell activities;
- lack of an effective system of national legal remedies (preventive and compensatory).
In accordance with the case law of the ECtHR (Kaverzin) and the EU Directive 2013/48/EU, guarantee immediate access to a lawyer from the moment of actual detention as a key measure to prevent torture. Mandatory video recording of interrogations should serve as a supplement, not a replacement of this right.
Lack of adequate material and technical support both in places of pre-trial detention and in penal institutions. In 2025, the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) emphasized that fundamental rights of detained persons must be upheld during armed conflicts. This includes ensuring that convicted persons are held in decent conditions. An acute shortage of electronic monitoring devices, or electronic bracelets, for supervising suspects and accused persons makes it difficult to reduce overcrowding in detention facilities.
Overcrowding in the cells and poor living conditions. Ukrainian legislation sets a standard of 2.5 m² of cell space, which is difficult to equate with the 4 m² per person guaranteed in the EU. In addition to the lower minimum guaranteed space per person, cells in Ukraine are overcrowded. Authorities have not implemented the ECtHR recommendation in Sukachov v. Ukraine to minimize custodial detentions by using non-custodial measures more often and reducing pre-trial detention, especially when the state cannot meet the minimum detention standards under Article 3 of the Convention.
There is a lack of consistent individual risk assessments and consideration of the accused’s identity when determining or extending detention. In grave crime cases, Ukraine has an established practice of applying or continuing detention, with minimal likelihood of selecting milder preventive measures. A systemic issue is that court decisions on preventive measures often lack sound reasoning and fail to adequately assess the facts.
Service dogs are used to escort individuals serving life sentences when they leave their cells, such as for outdoor walks or medical visits.
Allowing paid cells in pre-trial detention centers has further deepened divisions among prisoners, turning access to adequate conditions into a matter of financial means rather than the minimum standards that the state is required to ensure for all. At the same time, there was no public reporting on how funds received to improve detention conditions were distributed.
Medical staff in these institutions report directly to the State Penitentiary Service of Ukraine (SPSU), which may compromise the documentation of torture and bodily harm within the facility. The CPT has recommended transferring responsibility for penitentiary healthcare from the Ministry of Justice to the Ministry of Health, but this has been ignored since at least 2017. There is a systemic shortage of qualified medical personnel, equipment, and medicines.
Insufficient shelters in penitentiary institutions and the absence of effective mechanisms for prompt evacuation. This also applies to the measures to evacuate the files of criminal proceedings. If these files are lost, a person may be detained without a legally binding court verdict.
The compensation mechanism for harm caused by state representatives due to inadequate detention conditions, which is a systemic issue, is poorly implemented. National case law on this matter is inconsistent, and the compensation awarded by national courts does not closely align with the awards in similar ECtHR cases. No compensation is provided if a person was kept in poor conditions without a criminal conviction. Additionally, the state primarily compensates by reducing the term of Conditional Release (CR) or by granting exemptions from expense reimbursement, neither of which constitutes true compensation. Under these circumstances, the state doesn’t lose budget money, so there’s no motivation to enhance detention conditions. Instead, it benefits by shortening the time a person is kept isolated from society.
The human rights inspectors overseeing places of detention require further enhancement of their mechanisms, especially regarding their independence and impartiality. Currently, since these inspectors are employees reporting to the institution’s head, this setup undermines both trust in the inspectors and their overall effectiveness.
The national preventive mechanism does not have access to military facilities to carry out monitoring for torture and ill-treatment by officials. Additionally, there are issues with conducting timely, independent, and effective investigations of such incidents within these facilities. (For more details, see the section on the National Preventive Mechanism against Torture (NPM).)
Ukraine maintains informal prison hierarchies inherited from the Soviet penitentiary system, which negatively impact the human rights and protection of some prisoner groups.
A specific issue concerns prisoners who stayed in the temporarily occupied territories or were illegally moved to Russia, totaling several thousand people since 2014. Unfortunately, authorities have not made any systematic decisions about the return of these prisoners to date.

What Ukraine needs to do during its accession to the EU to improve the situation:

Establish torture as a crime committed by officials, limiting the circle of subjects to state representatives (officials), with the transfer of responsibility for actions of private individuals committed with the consent or complicity of the official.
Ensure that all forms of complicity are addressed by establishing criminal liability for organizing, inciting, aiding, or abetting acts of torture.
Consider criminalizing threats of torture by officials.

Do not apply statutes of limitations to criminal offenses involving cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment committed by state agents.
Establish annual public reports to Parliament on the activities of the Prosecutor General’s Office and the State Bureau of Investigation regarding cases of torture and other ill-treatment by law enforcement. Develop a unified system for maintaining statistics on these cases.
Ensure that information identified by human rights inspectors is promptly shared with the State Bureau of Investigation. Strengthen the effectiveness of pre-trial investigations into crimes involving official liability for torture by providing systematic training and advanced education for specialized investigators.
Increase the number of State Bureau of Investigation investigators who specialize in cases of torture and ill-treatment. Ensure fair and transparent competitive selection for management positions, particularly by involving international experts.
Ensure the implementation of key strategic documents: the Strategy for Combating Torture in the Criminal Justice System, the Strategy for Reforming the Penitentiary System until 2026, and public reporting on the progress of Action Plans to these documents after their respective periods.
Amend Part 2 of Article 11 of the Law of Ukraine “On Pre-trial Detention” and establish a standard area for one person taken into custody of not less than 4 m², and bring all premises into compliance with this standard (implementation of the decision in the Sukachov case).
Introduce an independent forensic medical examination. Ensure that each individual admitted to a pre-trial detention center or a penal facility receives an independent medical examination within 24 hours. Document any bodily injuries in accordance with the Istanbul Protocol. Examination results should be provided to the lawyer and, if signs of torture are present, promptly forwarded to the State Bureau of Investigation.
Establish regulatory standards to ensure appropriate detention conditions of convicted and detained persons, including the following:

Ensure all prisoners have unrestricted access to sufficient, high-quality drinking water and food.
Ensure all facilities housing convicted and detained individuals, including sanitary areas, are properly maintained and regularly disinfected.
Ensure that internal sanitary facilities are fully separated from the living area by a wall extending from the ceiling to the floor.
Ensure that ventilation and heating systems are operational and maintain a temperature of at least 18 degrees during the cold season.
Ensure access to daylight and provide adequate, stable artificial lighting that is bright enough for reading and working without harming eyesight.
Ensure all prisoners and detainees receive clean bed linen, mattresses, pillows, and blankets.
Ensure all prisoners and detainees have adequate soap and other supplies to meet their bathing, washing, sanitation, hygiene, and toilet needs.
Ensure a systematic process for washing underwear, bed linen, outerwear, towels, and regular cleaning or treatment of mattresses, pillows, and blankets.
Ensure all convicted and detained individuals have access to hot showers at least twice per week.
Develop a structured program of out-of-cell activities for individuals who are convicted or detained.
Ensure proper transportation conditions, including adequate personal space, well-maintained vehicles, appropriate ventilation and temperature, and access to drinking water.
Refrain from using handcuffs, especially when the hands are secured behind the back.
Discontinue the use of service dogs when escorting prisoners and submit the relevant information to the CPT.
Apply the principles of reasonable accommodation and consider individual characteristics, including detainees’ health, when executing sentences or holding individuals in custody.

End the practice of providing cells with improved conditions of detention in pre-trial detention centers for a separate fee and ensure that all persons taken into custody or imprisoned have equal access to adequate conditions of detention.
Develop a program to protect persons with disabilities from torture and ill-treatment in closed-type institutions (residential care facilities, mental hospitals), in line with Article 15 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and Article 3 of the ECHR.
Gradually transfer responsibility for healthcare in penitentiary institutions from the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine to the Ministry of Health. Strengthen medical units by providing additional personnel, medicines, and equipment, and provide access to examinations outside detention facilities. Continue to implement the Istanbul Protocol. Until then, establish procedures for cooperation between the Ministry of Health of Ukraine and the State Penitentiary Service of Ukraine (SPSU) to ensure timely, continuous medical care, with clear action plans for emergency and specialized cases.
Ensure all penal institutions and pre-trial detention centers have shelters that meet minimum civil defense standards. Develop and implement a mechanism for the timely evacuation of prisoners, convicts, and their documents from frontline regions.’
Take steps to reduce the use of detention and other punishments that isolate individuals from society, including the following:

Ensure the procurement of sufficient electronic control devices.
Promote the development of a consistent body of case law that prioritizes alternative preventive measures, focusing on individual risk assessment of the suspect or accused (particularly when deciding bail) and ensuring that detention is used only as a last resort and is thoroughly justified.
Enhance the probation system’s role in sentencing and enforcement by increasing the use of pre-trial reports and alternatives to imprisonment.
Promote the development of a consistent body of case law that favors the imposition of punishments other than social isolation.

Enshrine human rights inspectors at the legislative level, with clearly defined mandates, powers, responsibilities, and guarantees of independence. Remove their direct subordination to institutional management and ensure they report directly to the State Bureau of Investigation and prosecutors’ offices in all cases of potential torture and ill-treatment.
Ensure inspectors are properly selected, trained, and equipped with the necessary skills, including specialized training on ECHR standards, ECtHR case law, and the Istanbul Protocol.
Broaden the list of compensation measures for poor detention conditions to ensure all individuals detained under such conditions receive compensation, regardless of their later conviction, and that compensation is also offered in monetary form.
Ensure that the regulation of the compensatory measure provides for a retroactive effect.
Incorporate the responsibilities of the Commissions for addressing complaints about poor conditions in pre-trial detention centers and penal facilities into procedural legislation. This should specify their procedural status, outline the appeal process for their decisions, and establish guidelines for applying compensation measures.
Establish legislative procedures for compensating inadequate detention conditions by amending the Criminal Code of Ukraine. Compensation measures may include reducing parole eligibility periods, replacing sentences with milder penalties, or expunging criminal records.
Introduce accountability for failing to follow the decisions made by the Commission regarding complaints about poor detention conditions in pre-trial detention centers and penal facilities. This includes responsible officials from pre-trial detention centers and the administration of penal facilities, and allows for the re-evaluation of complaints if the relevant Resolution is not followed.
Require the authorized body to regularly publish summary information on Commission activities, including the number of complaints, types of violations, and enforcement of decisions. Ensure that prisoners and convicts are informed about this mechanism.
Regularly hold awareness-raising campaigns for prisoners and detainees about the work of Human Rights Inspectors and Commissions that review complaints regarding poor conditions in pre-trial detention centers and penal facilities.

Ensure adequate and sustainable funding for the National Preventive Mechanism, including full compensation for civil society representatives participating in the NPM visits. For more information, refer to the section on the National Preventive Mechanism against Torture. Enhance independent preventive monitoring of detention facilities, ensure effective access to monitor military sites where individuals are held, and establish procedures to address potential cases of torture and ill-treatment at these locations. Ensure that the NPM and independent monitoring bodies have access to psychiatric hospitals, residential care facilities, and other closed-type institutions.
Ensure timely, independent, and effective investigations of alleged torture and ill-treatment by service members at military facilities.

Establish protocols for the use of force by Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Centers (TRSSC) employees that comply with Article 3 of the ECHR and the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms.
Develop a comprehensive program to address inter-prisoner violence, intimidation, and prisoner dehierarchization (dismantling of prison hierarchies). Significantly increase staffing levels in detention areas, ensure staff are present in residential sections, and implement a system to protect vulnerable prisoner groups.

Establish further safeguards to prevent the expulsion or deportation of foreigners and stateless persons to countries where they may face torture or other forms of ill-treatment or punishment. Introduce the concepts of safe country of origin and safe third country into Ukrainian legislation. Ensure a more detailed examination of the facts in each case, and require courts to conduct a mandatory analysis of the risks of human rights violations in expulsion or deportation cases.
Develop solutions to facilitate the return of Ukrainian prisoners who remain in temporarily occupied territories or have been illegally transferred to Russia since 2014.
Finalize the enforcement of the European Court of Human Rights’ judgments against Ukraine in the following cases:

To find more about this topic, see sections:

For a comprehensive overview of these issues and the rationale behind our recommendations, please refer to the research section, specifically the document available in Ukrainian: Prohibition of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment section. If you have any feedback or comments about this material, please send them to: hrmap@ccl.org.ua.

Published materials may be used provided that a mandatory link to the original source is included. @ 2026 Center for Civil Liberties.

Experts

Olena Kuvaieva

Legal Counsel at the Center for Strategic Affairs of the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union

The Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union (UHHRU)