Soviet Style Punitive Psychiatry Returns to Russia; Is It Practiced in the West?

Soviets' 'Abhorrent' Practice of Punitive Psychiatry Returns

Forced “psychiatric treatment” as a means of punishing political dissenters was used by the Soviet regime since its earliest days... but the practice became widespread after Nikita Khrushchev’s statement in the late 1950s that only the “mentally ill” could be opposed to the Communist government. Under Andropov’s chairmanship of the KGB in the 1960s and 1970s, dozens of prominent political dissidents, human rights activists, and “disloyal” cultural figures... were declared “insane” and subjected to often torturous “treatment” ...

There have already been warning signs that Russian authorities are thinking about a return to the old practice.... But an active pushback by the media and human rights groups...helped prevent other such cases.

This week, the Russian authorities moved again—this time, in a political show trial...against pro-democracy demonstrators...(the defendant) was declared “mentally ill” and ordered to undergo, for an indefinite period of time, compulsory psychiatric treatment. The decision was taken by Judge Ludmila Moskalenko... based on the conclusions of medical experts... from the Serbsky Institute that had become infamous in the Soviet era because of its role in punitive psychiatry.

[link to www.worldaffairsjournal.org]

Last Edited by JustDarby on 10/13/2013 12:00 PM