CCPR/C/127/D/2920/2016
the courtroom were rejected by all instances. The author was released from the clinic on 1
November 2013.
2.12 The author submits that, on 2 September 2013, as a result of a complaint lodged on
her behalf, an unscheduled inspection of the Medical and Pharmaceutical Oversight
Committee had established that she was not in need of forced psychiatric treatment.
Episode 5 of forced hospitalization
2.13 On 2 July 2014, the author was forcefully taken from her home by six men in
civilian clothes who acted aggressively towards her and her two grandchildren. Concerned
about her whereabouts, the author’s relatives had to seek information from the Balkhash
city prosecutor’s office. The relatives were informed that the author had been hospitalized
in a psychiatric medical facility in Balkhash city. On 1 August 2014, the medical
commission of the psychiatric facility took a decision about the author’s continued
hospitalization. The author was subjected to intensive treatment. The author’s sister lodged
a complaint with the prosecutor on her behalf, alleging torture and inhuman and degrading
treatment, but the complaint was rejected as no acts of torture were established. The author
was released on 16 December 2014. She did not appeal her forced hospitalization as she
was threatened with continued hospitalization if she complained.13
2.14 From the moment of her release on 16 December 2014, the author remained under
an obligation to visit the hospital on a daily basis for check-ups. The author claims that all
of her forced psychiatric hospitalizations were unlawful and, on two occasions, in May
2012 and in August 2013, she had not been allowed to see her lawyer when she was in the
psychiatric facility. Every time the author complained about her forced hospitalization, her
internment in the psychiatric facility was extended.
2.15 In total, the author was involuntarily interned in a psychiatric facility and forced to
undergo psychiatric treatment for an alleged “delusional disorder” on five occasions: from
12 January to 22 September 2011 (eight months and 10 days); from 12 to 29 December
2011 (17 days); from 8 May to 6 June 2012 (30 days); from 9 August to 1 November 2013
(two months and 22 days); and from 2 July to 16 December 2014 (five months and 14 days).
On two occasions, visits to the author were prohibited and she could not receive the parcels
sent to her. Also, the author was repeatedly pursued by the medical personnel through
undesired phone calls and visits to her home.
2.16 The author notes that, in total, six medical expert opinions were conducted with the
aim of verifying her mental health. This includes two independent psychiatric
examinations14 initiated by the author, undertaken from 25 to 27 September 2012 and on 30
November 2013, which revealed that she was “mentally fit” and that she had been subjected
to torture and degrading treatment. However, these independent expert opinions were
ignored by the courts.
2.17 The author appealed the conclusions of the psychiatric experts’ reports. However,
the courts refused to consider these complaints, citing different reasons each time.
The complaint
3.1
The author claims that the State party has violated her rights under articles 7, 9 and
14, read alone and in conjunction with article 2, and articles 18 and 19, of the Covenant.
She contends that her forced internment in a psychiatric hospital and treatment there on five
occasions, aimed at preventing her from submitting complaints and also to punish her for
appealing to the President and for defending herself; the humiliating and cruel treatment she
received during her apprehension in her home; the physical violence inflicted upon her on 9
August 2013 and on 2 July 2014; the prohibition of visits and on the delivery of parcels
while she was in the psychiatric facility; the threats and pressure she was subjected to by
13
14
4
On 22 August 2014, the author’s sister appealed to the Balkhash city prosecutor to open criminal
proceedings for torture and unlawful commitment to a psychiatric facility. On 4 September 2014, the
prosecutor’s office forwarded the application to the director of the Ministry of Health’s Medical and
Pharmaceutical Oversight Committee for the Karaganda Region. On 10 September 2014, the
prosecutor rejected the application due to a lack of grounds to initiate a criminal case.
The examinations of the author were conducted by the independent psychiatrists, Professor K.A.
Idrisov and “candidate of medical science” S.N. Molchanov.