A woman from Ukraine, who was deported to Russia as a refugee, was kept in psychiatric hospitals for a long time and was forced to accept Russian citizenship, the “Možem objasnitj” publication reports.
A woman from Ukraine, who was deported to Russia as a refugee, was kept in psychiatric hospitals for a long time and was forced to accept Russian citizenship, the “Možem objasnitj” publication reports.
Human rights activist and lawyer Aleksej Pryanishinikov told the woman’s story to the publication. According to what he said, in May 2022, the woman was taken by bus from the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv to a temporary settlement in Belgorod.
After the woman refused to reveal information about herself, she was admitted to the Belgorod psychiatric hospital.
“Refusal to disclose information about oneself is not grounds for placement in a psychiatric hospital. However, this is not the first such case in my practice,” says the lawyer.
He says that the woman had no documents. Russian officials blackmailed her by offering to release her from a psychiatric hospital if she accepted Russian citizenship.
The woman was kept in the psychiatric hospital in Belgorod until August 10, 2022, when she was transferred to another hospital in Engels, Saratov region.
There, the woman was given haloperidol, a drug that has been used in the treatment of schizophrenia since Soviet times.
“Throughout the civilized world, it is considered a rather harmful preparation that has a number of side effects,” says the activist.
However, in February of this year, the woman managed to return to Ukraine, because her son managed to find out where she was.
Pryanishinikov states that he and Saratov lawyers visited a woman in the hospital in Engels on February 21. After talking with the hospital staff, it was agreed that the woman could leave.
The woman has not accepted Russian citizenship.
