Doctors and medical staff in Russia are involved in the torture of political prisoners, according to a report by a UN Human Rights Council expert.

Mariana Katzarova, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Russia, documented at least 50 cases of abuse.

“Unfortunately, repression inside Russia is escalating,” the Bulgarian expert said Monday in Geneva while presenting her report.

Katzarova described a state system built on fear and punishment, where political prisoners are persecuted, tortured, silenced, and forced to undergo psychiatric treatment.

Anti-terrorism laws are widely used against dissenters: “Many are in prison not for crimes but for their courage,” she said.

She noted that she had spoken with more than 200 Russian and international human rights organizations, from which she received about 100 reports.

Russia is not cooperating with the investigation, the Foreign Ministry in Moscow said ahead of the session, and it did not respond to the latest report.

The UN rapporteur referred to the case of a Ukrainian soldier who was wounded while in captivity. A doctor performed the operation correctly but then branded the soldier’s abdomen with the words “Glory to Russia.”

In other cases, medical staff were actively involved in torture with electric shocks and instructed torturers on the procedures to follow.

Doctors allegedly stood by idly while prisoners were beaten and abused. Other detainees were subjected to forced psychiatric treatments.

Between early 2024 and mid-2025, at least 912 people were prosecuted on political grounds, while 390 were detained. Many were arrested for their peaceful protests against the war in Ukraine.

The UN Human Rights Council is composed of 47 member states, each elected by the UN General Assembly for a three-year term. The Council can appoint independent experts by vote to report on the human rights situation in specific countries, regions, or on thematic issues.