This open letter to Russian presidential candidates gives a brief summary of Amnesty International’s concerns in the country relating to torture and ill-treatment, prison conditions, prisoners of conscience, the lack of protection afforded to refugees and displaced persons, the death penalty and human rights violations committed by the federal army during the conflict in the Chechen Republic,which include indiscriminate killing, torture and extrajudicial execution. Amnesty International is calling on the candidates to consider the improvement of the human rights situation as a first priority and to develop a strategy to respect and implement pledged committments to the Council of Europe on a wide range of human rights issues.
