Jens Asbjørn Bøgen
It was a popular way of cracking down on the opposition in the USSR.
Speaking out against those in power has always carried heavy risks in many corners of the world.
While prison cells are the standard tool for silencing critics, some regimes find far more unsettling ways to make dissenting voices disappear completely.
And according to a new study, Russia is increasingly using a method of silencing political opponents that was popularized in the Soviet Union.
Echoes of the past
According to a study by the human rights project APUS, Russian authorities are increasingly using forced psychiatric treatment to suppress political dissent.
The Moscow Times reports that data from the monitoring group OVD-Info shows that at least 63 people are currently facing these punitive medical measures. Most were convicted under political laws, such as spreading anti-war information or criticizing state security.
Another group, the Memorial Human Rights Center, tracks 57 similar cases involving people targeted for their public statements.
Punishing civic duty
The APUS report points out a chilling reality. A person’s peaceful civic activism is now being treated as a medical warning sign.
Human rights workers note that official medical files regularly list positive traits as symptoms of a mental disorder. Doctors cite a patient’s “passion for justice” or an “active life position” to justify locking them away. Even “harsh criticism of state authorities” is treated as a psychological illness.
Once inside, patients face brutal conditions regardless of whether they are peaceful. Lawyers and relatives say people are routinely placed in locked wards and tied to beds with ropes or belts.
A complete wall
Medical staff also rely heavily on aggressive chemical restraints. The study notes the use of strong anti-psychotic drugs like haloperidol, which can cause permanent damage to the nervous system in healthy individuals.
Worse still, these sentences have no clear end date. Prisoners in jail know exactly when they will go home, but psychiatric patients are left entirely in the dark.
When patients try to ask for a second medical opinion, doctors view the request as proof that they need more treatment.
As one former patient noted, “asking unnecessary questions is not allowed.”
Sources: APUS, OVD-Info, Memorial Human Rights Center, The Moscow Times
