WASHINGTON – ongressman Alcee L. Hastings (D-FL), Chairman of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (U.S. Helsinki Commission), issued the following statement in response to news reports of Russian opposition activists and journalists being involuntarily committed to psychiatric hospitals for speaking out against the Russian government.
On November 23, just a day before a planned demonstration against the Putin government, Mr. Artern Basyrov, an opposition activist of the “Other Russia” organization was detained by authorities and committed to a psychiatric hospital in the central region of Mari El. Mr. Basyrov’s case is slated to be reviewed in the near future. Earlier this month, Mr. Andrei Novikov, a journalist accused by police of “extremism,” was ordered released by court order from a psychiatric hospital after being held there for nine months. Ms. Larisa Arap of Murmansk, another “Other Russia” activist and journalist, was released earlier this year after spending six weeks at a psychiatric clinic.
“The news reports of activists and journalists being involuntarily imprisoned in psychiatric hospitals for disagreeing with policies of the Kremlin are quite reminiscent of acts committed against dissidents during the Soviet era. President Putin claims to be a democratic leader, but democratic leaders don’t let local officials turn psychiatric hospitals into jails for dissidents. It is a horrible practice of another time; I would urge President Putin to condemn such heinous acts immediately, and remove from positions of authority any officials responsible for these acts,” said Chairman Hastings.
