Draft: not yet checked by a lawyerThe guides below are drafts: a lawyer has not reviewed them yet. This is not legal advice.
Draft What human rights defenders advise
How to document torture, trauma and pressure
Start collecting evidence straight away, even if you plan nothing now: what you gather in the first days is worth the most. You need it for a report to the Investigative Committee, a compensation claim, a UN complaint and an asylum application.
Your body. Within 24 hours go to an emergency clinic or hospital, then to a forensic medical bureau (free when the police or an investigator refers you, paid if you go on your own). Ask them to describe every injury in detail and to record, in your words, who caused it and how. Photograph the marks over several days: bruises show up after 24-48 hours. Keep scans, test results, sick-leave certificates, prescriptions and receipts.
Your account. In the first hours write down the date, time and place, who beat or threatened you, what they looked like, what they hit you with and where, and who saw it. Write on paper or pass it straight to a lawyer. Don't share details with strangers or in group chats.
Your mind. Fear, sleeplessness and flashbacks are effects too. A report from a psychologist or psychiatrist should give the date, the specialist's name and qualifications, your symptoms, how long you were seen and the conclusions. The UN standard for such reports is the Istanbul Protocol. Under it, the absence of marks does not mean there was no torture, and confusion in your account does not mean you are lying. Free help: in Russia, the Committee Against Torture Foundation; in Kazakhstan, the NGO Coalition Against Torture; abroad, centres for torture survivors.
Where it goes. In Russia: a report filed in person with the Investigative Committee, with a registration receipt, and a compensation claim against the Interior Ministry. Internationally: the UN Committee Against Torture accepts complaints against Russia and Kazakhstan, but not against Belarus. The ECHR is almost no longer an option against Russia: on 3 September 2026 it struck out all remaining complaints not related to the war. Conditions in pre-trial detention and colonies can be raised with the prosecutor, the public monitoring commission, the human rights ombudsman, and in court for compensation (art. 227.1 Code of Administrative Procedure).
Copies. By law, copies of medical records are issued on written request, usually within 30 days (art. 22 of Law 323-FZ). Keep originals with someone you trust and give copies to a lawyer or a human rights group.
Asylum. Mention torture and pressure at the start of the procedure. In the EU, since 12 June 2026 the authority may order a free medical examination (Regulation 2024/1348, art. 24). Free Istanbul Protocol reports are made by centres in Germany, the UK, the USA and the Netherlands, usually at a lawyer's request (see the asylum note).
Free help for people who suffered torture or ill-treatment by police, prison staff, the National Guard and other officials: a psychologist and a support group, payment for medicines and tests, documents for court, lawyers.
A charitable foundation registered in 2019. Its website says it is not a 'foreign agent'. It helps people at liberty and in custody, their families and witnesses. You can write briefly and anonymously, without your real name.
The only official contact is @bfkpp_help; the foundation's website links to it.
Helps torture victims in Kazakhstan and their families: lawyers, medical help, a psychologist, Istanbul Protocol reports for court and compensation claims, UN complaints. Free of charge.
Requests are taken by the offices of the Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights. Head office in Almaty, phone +7 708 978 21 03.
Other ways to reach them: +7 708 978 21 03 · about (a call stays in the phone log and with the operator)
A network of about 50 centres across Germany: free therapy and counselling for survivors of torture, war and political persecution, with interpreters. Some centres prepare psychological reports for asylum procedures, for example XENION in Berlin.
Find a centre by German state on the 'Hilfe vor Ort' page. Waiting lists can be long; in Munich booking opens only in certain months.