E/CN.4/2003/68/Add.2 page 58 When she refused to take medication during her first internment in the hospital in April and May 2001, she was reportedly tied to the bed and forced to take the medication. As a result of the medication, she was suffering from loose teeth, pain in her hands and in the heart area, and oppressive feelings. Her hands were shaking. She could only receive visits by her mother and son. When asked for the reasons for sectioning Elena Urlaeva, the deputy director of the institution replied that she had been showing signs of strange behaviour since 1996. Neighbours and doctors had recommended that she be checked. According to the director of the psychiatric institution, she has a general conflictual nature, was having arguments with people and problems with doctors; she made unsubstantiated complaints that she was being followed by law enforcement officials and that her phone was tapped; and she wrongly complained that her brother had been ill-treated in detention. It is believed that she had been checked by a board of doctors who concluded that she is suffering from schizophrenia. The director of the institution did not know when she would be released. As a result of the medical treatment that she is receiving, her behaviour had become more manageable, and according to the director, she had said that she felt better. He also claimed that as with many other patients, she had not realized that she was sick. The director stated that he was not aware that she had taken part in a demonstration. She was sectioned on the basis of article 27 of the applicable law, on the grounds that her stay outside the hospital without treatment would represent a serious threat to her health, as there would be a negative dynamic in the evolution of her disease. According to the information received, she was released on 31 December 2002. It is however reported that she is now facing civil charges with a view to assessing that she is permanently insane. She would thus lose her legal responsibility and would be prevented from intervening on behalf of human rights victims. At the time of writing, the hearing was scheduled on 16 January 2003. Larissa Alexandrova Vdovina was reportedly arrested on 27 August 2002 while participating in a picket line outside the building of the Ministry of Justice in Tashkent, protesting against human rights abuses. She was arrested at the same time as Elena Urlaeva (see above) and it is believed that she was eventually subjected to the same kind of medical treatment. She is also said to have been diagnosed with schizophrenia. According to the information received, the picket was disrupted and halted by the police, and Larissa Alexandrova Vdovina was taken to the Regional Department of the MVD, together with others participating in the protest. She was not interrogated and was not allowed to make a telephone call. On 28 August 2002 she was taken to the main psychiatric hospital in Tashkent, where since then, she has been held in a room with two other patients. She is being forcibly administered medication and injections which make her tired and sleepy. She is said to have undergone several psychiatric examinations by physicians of that institution and by various commissions of the Ministry of Health, which concluded that she is suffering from schizophrenia. It is reported that she has not, however, been informed about the reason for her internment. According to the information received, she was not allowed to attend the two court hearings, at the local and city courts, which presumably decided upon her internment. According to the information received, she has been interned in this psychiatric institution five times in the past. During previous periods of internment, she was allegedly ill-treated and tied to her bed on several occasions. At the time of writing, she was reportedly still being held at the main psychiatric hospital in Tashkent. According to information recently received, since the first week of December 2002, she has been given a new type of injection, which is believed to be affecting her health badly, in particular causing pain to her kidney. She has been trying to stop the hospital staff from giving her these new injections, and in response hospital staff have allegedly been beating her.