The UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office released its 2013 Human Rights Report today, featuring detailed information about ongoing violations taking place in the Russian Federation last year.

The report, which refers to Russia as “a country of concern,” highlighted the continuing deterioration of human rights, citing the Bolotnaya case, LGBT issues, and the crackdown against NGOs under the foreign agent law.

“The rule of law in Russia remained inconsistent and arbitrarily applied,” the report reads. “Concerns about the impartiality of courts were ongoing, and prison conditions remained poor.”

The report also noted the release of political prisoners such as Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Pussy Riot, and some Bolotnaya detainees, but concluded that amnesties were not a substitute for reform.

“Mikhail Khodorkovsky received a presidential pardon and was released after ten years in prison. But this does not alleviate concerns about the independence of Russia’s judicial system,” the report reads.

The report noted that FCO representatives spoke out publicly on human rights in Russia, and engaged in high-level lobbying on a number of issues, including a statement by Minister for Europe David Lidington welcoming the release of Khodorkovsky and calling upon the Russian authorities to strengthen the rule of law and promote independence of the judiciary.

According to the FCO, Russia received 129 violation judgements at the European Court of Human Rights in 2013, more than any other State Party to the European Convention on Human Rights.

Read the full Russia section of the 2013 FCO Human Right Report here.