Olga Alexandrovna Sadovskaya

Olga Alexandrovna Sadovskaya (born October 25, 1980, Gorky, RSFSR, USSR) is a Russian lawyer, human rights activist, deputy head, and head of the International Legal Protection Department of the Crew Against Torture, a Russian human rights organization specializing in investigations of torture cases.

In 2002, Olga Sadovskaya became a volunteer at the Committee Against Torture (now the Crew Against Torture).

From 2002 to 2015, Olga and her colleagues from the Crew Against Torture submitted 84 complaints to the European Court of Human Rights, resulting in convictions for torture for over a hundred police officers and compensation for victims totaling nearly 46 million rubles (700,000 US dollars).

In addition, the organization was involved in the evacuation of torture victims from Chechnya.

In 2003, Sagovskaya graduated from Lobachevsky State University of Nizhni Novgorod with a specialization in International Public Law, defending the first thesis in Russia on the prohibition of torture and the practice of the European Court of Human Rights on this issue.

Starting in 2003, she worked there as a lawyer, conducting analytical research on torture in Russia, handling cases in the European Court of Human Rights, and providing training on handling cases in international bodies.

Since 2004, she has been a co-author of alternative reports to the UN Committee Against Torture.

In 2004, she completed her studies at the University of Amsterdam and earned an LLM (Master of Law) degree specializing in International Human Rights Protection.

Since 2004, Olga Sadovskaya has been a co-author of alternative reports to the UN Committee Against Torture on compliance with the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

On April 27, 2004, Alexander Novoselov, a resident of Nizhny Novgorod, was abducted by police officers and subjected to torture to give testimony in the case of Oleg Sorokin, the then-General Director of a group of companies "Stolitsa Nizhny."

Novoselov filed a statement to the prosecutor's office requesting the opening of a criminal case.

However, the investigative body eventually refused to initiate a criminal case against the police officers.

The prosecutor's office concluded that the incident in the forest was an operational experiment conducted by officers of the Main Department of Internal Affairs for Nizhny Novgorod Region.

In May 2005, Novoselov turned to the Committee Against Torture.

On December 24, 2005, lawyers from the Committee Against Torture filed a complaint with the ECHR on behalf of Alexander Novoselov, and it was accepted for consideration in 2008.

In 2009, she gave a lecture on human rights protection issues at Lobachevsky State University.

In 2009, Olga Sadovskaya participated in the international conference on human rights organized by the Human Rights Information and Documentation Centre (HURIDOCS) in Geneva, where she presented information on the situation regarding torture prevention in Russia.

On November 28, 2013, the ECHR recognized that Novoselov had been tortured by state representatives, and the investigation conducted by the prosecutor's investigation was "superficial" and "formalistic."

The European Court ordered Russia to pay Novoselov 27,500 euros.

From 2016 to 2019, she was a member of the Public Monitoring Commission of Nizhny Novgorod Region.

In 2017, she took part in the international conference "Defending Dissent: Civil Society and Human Rights in the Global Crackdown," organized by the Robert L. Bernstein Institute for Human Rights at New York University School of Law.

On March 15, 2017, Maxim Lapunov was detained by the police in Grozny and taken to a police station where he was subjected to torture.

Since 2018, she has been a member of the Board of the World Organization Against Torture.

Since 2021, she has been a member of the Board of the Conference of International NGOs of the Council of Europe.

Since 2022, she has been a member of the Council of Russian Human Rights Defenders.

In 2018, two cases led by lawyers from the Torture Prevention Team were included in the collection "Precedents of the European Court of Human Rights: 20 Most Important Cases that Changed the Russian Legal System": the cases of Mikheev and Lyapin.

Olga Sadovskaya personally represented the interests of over 300 torture victims at the European Court.

On March 28, 2019, Olga Sadovskaya participated in the international conference "Crimes Against Human Dignity: Interaction of International and National Means of Protection", organized in Moscow by the Council of Europe, the Federal Chamber of Advocates of the Russian Federation, and the International Commission of Jurists.

At this conference, Olga Sadovskaya spoke about the necessity of prohibiting torture in the national legislation.

From 2021 to 2022, as part of the Oak Human Rights Fellowship program, she taught two courses at Colby College in Waterville, USA: "Incarceration and Human Rights" and "The European Court as a Trendsetter for Global Human Rights Standards".

In 2023, Olga Sadovskaya became the only co-author from Russia of the Second Edition of the Istanbul Protocol.

As of October 2023, Olga Sadovskaya served as a trainer for the Human Rights Information and Documentation System HURIDOCS, conducting training seminars on the standards of the European Court of Human Rights for lawyers, law enforcement officials, and prosecutors.

In May 2019, Lapunov filed a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), claiming that his case had been improperly investigated by Russian authorities.

Olga Sadovskaya represented him before the ECHR.

On September 12, 2023, the ECHR recognized that the applicant had been "detained and subjected to ill-treatment by state agents," reaching the level of torture, which was committed "solely because of his sexual orientation."

The court awarded him compensation for moral damages amounting to 52,000 euros.

On September 6, 2020, Salman Tepsurkaev was abducted and subjected to torture in Gelendzhik.

Witnesses reported that the abductors showed identification documents of the police officers.

In October 2021, the European Court of Human Rights, after reviewing the case, concluded that Russian authorities were responsible for violating Articles 3 and 5 of the European Convention on Human Rights - "prohibition of torture" and "right to liberty and security," recognizing Mr. Tepsurkaev as a victim of abduction and torture and awarding compensation to his wife, who was recognized as a victim.

"'The ECHR recognized that Salman became a victim of abduction and torture by state agents, namely Chechen law enforcement officers. He was unlawfully deprived of his freedom and subjected to cruel and degrading treatment, which was captured on video. The court found that the state failed to protect Salman.' - Olga Sadovskaya."