Many participants of February’s March of Outraged Belarusians appeared before court; activist Halina Lahatskaya was among them. The woman spent 10 days in prison.
It was not the first trial that Lahatskaya had faced. Two years ago, she was tried for taking part in the entrepreneurs’ protest rally in Minsk. The woman’s neighbour reported her participation to the police.
“When I met this man in 2011 or 2012, my life turned into a nightmare. Administrative cases started to be opened against me. He dislikes me, and he keeps filing complaints to the police. And the police officers fail to see how the wind is blowing – they just draw protocols upon me,” Halina said.
Halina Lahatskaya lost most of the cases. Since the woman failed to pay hefty fines, court officers had been clamouring for distraining her property.
“Once again, when they arrived earlier, she wrote a note saying that they would be to blame for her death. She just wanted to scare court officers, because she was sick and tired of them. They took the note, called an ambulance and took her to Navinki mental hospital,” says Tamara Hulezava, Halina’s friend.
The woman has been kept in psychiatric ward No. 14
Ms. Lahatskaya managed to tell Belsat TV some words over the phone: “It is horrible, save me, take me away from here! I beg you. It is like being in prison, even worse!”
According to the woman, she has been not diagnosed yet, it is not known exactly how much time she will spend in hospital. It is a retaliation act for her civil activity, the friends believe.
“She takes part in the elections. She is not afraid to pose hard-hitting questions to our deputies. She asserts her own rights and rights of our citizens, helps them,” Tamara Hulezava says.
“Sometimes, if it is impossible to hold a person criminally liable, the authorities resort to punitive psychiatry, i.e. declare them insane, who cannot take responsibility for their actions,” says Head of the human rights watchdog Platforma Andrey Bandarenka.
For example, in 2013 doctor Ihar Pastnou was sent for compulsory treatment after he had repeatedly criticised health services in Vitsebsk. Maladzechna activist Olesya Sadouskaya landed up in mental hospital after she had reported police abuse to the prosecutor.
“Taking these facts into account, we informed the International Psychiatric Association of what was going on in Belarus. As far as I know, they have already started considering the cases reported,” Bandarenka stressed.
Punitive psychiatry is no news in our country. In the Soviet times it was used to exert pressure on dissidents. Fake diagnoses gave the authorities an occasion to put their opponents away for many years.
Belsat.eu
