«Judge not lest you be judged» – essentially, this directive is received by Uzbek bloggers who dared to express criticism against the president. For any criticism towards the head of the state, they are either sent to prison or to psychiatric institutions.
«Maximum Security Rest and Recreation»
According to recent data, three people in Uzbekistan have already received prison sentences for publicly expressing dissatisfaction with the president’s policies. One citizen even had compulsory «treatment» imposed on him in a hospital due to a claimed mental disorder, which he denies. Current inmates of psychiatric hospitals and prisons ended up there after posting on social media where they explained why Shavkat Mirziyoyev is incapable of governing Uzbekistan.
One of the first to attract the attention of the morality police was Valijon Kalonov. Before his arrest in 2021, the 54-year-old blogger criticized Mirziyoyev for maintaining good relations with China, despite Beijing’s repression against Uighurs and other Muslims in the western province of Xinjiang. For this reason, he called on fellow citizens to vote for the resignation of the current president during the elections.
After that, the blogger was «visited» by officers from the regional department for combating terrorism and extremism. The Jizzakh City Court sentenced him for «insulting the president» and committing other «criminal offenses threatening society.» Just insulting the president can lead to a five-year imprisonment.
The fate of the blogger seemed predictable: he would go to prison. However, recently Kalonov’s relatives told journalists that in November, the district court in Jizzakh extended the forced «treatment» of Kalonov in a psychiatric hospital for three months. The blogger’s family was, to say the least, surprised: no mental deviations were observed in him. During the weekly visits, he shared with his relatives that he was being injected with tranquilizers.
According to the official conclusion of doctors, «Kalonov’s mental state has not improved,» and he still «does not regret his actions,» which led him to the psychiatric hospital…
Other details of Kalonov’s case and the verdict are unknown. Obviously, a psychiatric hospital is not the best legacy of the Soviet era, which is still used in CIS countries to punish undesirable high-ranking individuals.
Madhouse or Prison
The first 20-bed mental health institution in Kazakhstan was opened in 1896 in Semey. To «restrain» patients, they used handcuffs and straitjackets. While modern psychiatry has transitioned to more gentle pharmacological treatment methods, a series of incidents involving Kazakhs raises concerns about whether such institutions pose a threat to dissenters.
Of course, not everyone is sent to psychiatric hospitals everywhere, but there have been sporadic abuses in sovereign Kazakhstan.
In 2008, philosopher Nurlan Alimbekov became a patient of the psychiatric hospital in Aktas after seeking political asylum from a foreign ambassador. He was arrested on charges of «inciting national and religious enmity.» As a philosopher and researcher, Alimbekov had expressed opinions in various studies that close strategic partnership with Russia deprived Kazakhstan of the opportunity to develop democratically and build a truly legal state. This was his point of view, and now he was persecuted for his beliefs. This was stated by Nurlan Alimbekov in January 2008.
Seven years later, in 2015, Ermeq Taichibekov found himself on the defendant’s bench for expressing an opposing opinion. He referred to Kazakhstan as «part of Russia,» attracting the attention of the authorities.
Sending Taichibekov to prison would have been more logical, but unexpectedly, he was directed for outpatient forensic psychiatric examination. They found thought disorders in him. After Russian media sensationalized this story, calling what was happening in Kazakhstan a «peak of punitive medicine,» the man was unexpectedly given a choice: either he would be mentally ill but free or mentally healthy but in prison. In response, he proudly chose a «journey» to prison. Obviously, in this story, the psychiatric conclusion was not based on professional experience, meaning psychiatric treatment was one way to «teach» the undesirable.
Every Kazakhstani – a potential psychiatric patient?
In 2019, information emerged about a bill according to which every Kazakhstani could become a patient of a psychiatric institution.
Activists refer to Article 335 («Submission of an application for the forced hospitalization of a person with a mental or behavioral disorder (illness) to a stationary organization providing psychiatric care») of the «Health of the People and Healthcare System» code. According to a segment of Kazakhs, based on the International Classification of Diseases, behavioral disorders can be caused by alcohol, tobacco, tranquilizers, sedatives, and caffeine.
Such wording implies that anyone fitting this description could be involuntarily placed in a mental asyum. Their fate would entirely depend on the psychiatrist.
To the relief of all, this bill did not come to fruition. So, for now, Kazakhs can express their opinions as long as they do not contradict commonly accepted values.
