Russia no longer to respect rulings of European Court of Human Rights

Russia no longer wants to abide by rulings of the European Court of Human Rights, with President Vladimir Putin signing a law to this effect on Saturday, the TASS news agency reported.

According to the law, rulings issued after March 15 will no longer be executed.

The European Court of Human Rights, based in the French city of Strasbourg, is part of the Council of Europe.

Together, these bodies, which are independent of the European Union, work to protect human rights in the 47 member states.

Russia and Ukraine were originally both members of the Council of Europe. The body had initially suspended Russia's membership on February 25 in the wake of its attack on Ukraine.

After the Kremlin declared its withdrawal on March 15, Russia was finally excluded from the Council of Europe.