A/HRC/RES/57/20 media outlets, journalists, media workers, Indigenous Peoples, persons in vulnerable situations, children and their families, persons belonging to minorities, lawyers, political opposition representatives, and other individuals exercising their human rights, Expressing its deep concern at the reported mass arbitrary arrests, detentions and harassment of the persons referred to in the previous paragraph, including persons peacefully protesting and speaking out against the deterioration of the rule of law in the Russian Federation and the war of aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, and the excessive use of force against these individuals, as well as at the lack of an independent judiciary, denial of the right to a fair trial and legal assistance of their own choice, including for those detained, and the intimidation of, arbitrary disciplinary measures against, and disbarment and criminal prosecution of lawyers for performing their professional duties, including lawyers defending those arrested and sentenced on politically motivated grounds, Expressing concern at the torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment of detainees, including acts involving the denial of access to adequate medical care, and their arbitrary placement in punitive solitary isolation cells or solitary confinement; at the unwillingness of the authorities to investigate allegations of enforced disappearances, torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, as well as of sexual and gender-based violence against persons in detention; at the situation of individuals, especially children, deported to the Russian Federation; and at the persistent impunity for these acts, Expressing grave concern at the death of the opposition leader Alexei Navalny in detention, and the failure of the Russian authorities to conduct an effective, independent and impartial investigation into the circumstances of his death, Calling upon the Russian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release and effectively rehabilitate all those persons arbitrarily or unlawfully detained, arrested, charged or sentenced on politically motivated grounds or for exercising their human rights, Expressing its concern at the mass forced shutdowns of civil society organizations, including Memorial, the Moscow Helsinki Group, the Sakharov Centre, the SOVA Center for Information and Analysis, the Centre for Support of Indigenous Peoples of the North and the human rights organization Man and Law, the blocking and forced closure of nearly all independent media outlets, including radio channels, television channels, online media and newspapers, the bans on foreign media and the targeted revocation of registration of foreign organizations by the Russian authorities, and also at the limited access of Russian civil society to information and communications infrastructure and to independent information, and the increase in offline and online censorship and disinformation, as well as the pervasive new cybersurveillance systems to control information and intimidate and silence critics, Noting with deep concern the legislative measures to increasingly restrict the freedoms of peaceful assembly, association and expression, including the freedom to seek, receive and impart information, both online and offline, notably the laws on so-called “foreign agents”, “extremism” and “undesirable organizations”, as amended, the law on “fake news about the Russian army” and “discreditation of the use of the Russian armed forces” of March 2022, amending the Code on Administrative Offences and the Criminal Code, and general prohibitions on the dissemination of information based on vague and ambiguous notions, as well as the misuse of the court system for political purposes, which together have the effect of suppressing peaceful, independent and pluralistic views through the application of steep fines, arbitrary detention and lengthy prison sentences, Concerned at the human rights violations stemming from the arbitrary use and instrumentalization of laws relating to the “security of the State”, including “treason” or antiterrorism and anti-extremism legislation with an excessively broad interpretation beyond their stated purpose, aimed at silencing dissenting voices, and at extrajudicial restrictions, the secret trial of civilians by military courts and laws that are used in practice to limit freedom of expression and association, and in this regard expressing concern at the addition of at least 55 Indigenous Peoples’ organizations and other regional and minorities groups to the list of “extremist organizations”, 2