Putin critic must stay in psychiatry
A self-proclaimed shaman travels to Moscow repeatedly to drive Putin out of the Kremlin. Since 2021, Alexander Gabyshev has been detained in a psychiatric facility in Siberia. A regional court in Primorsky denied his request to transfer to another clinic, thus upholding the decision of the lower court not to ease his treatment, as reported by Gabyshev's lawyer Alexei Prjanisnikov. He announced his intention to appeal.
Gabyshev has made numerous trips from Siberian Jakutia to Moscow since 2019, aiming to drive the long-standing President Vladimir Putin out of the Kremlin. After his first march in 2019, he was declared legally incompetent following an investigation. In 2020, he was hospitalized in a psychiatric institution for two months.
After another attempt to expel Putin, Gabyshev was admitted to the psychiatric facility again in January 2021, where he has been receiving treatment since. A Siberian court rejected his request to be transferred to another clinic in May. Human rights organizations accuse Russia of using psychiatric clinics and involuntary commitments as a means of punishing critics - a practice that was common in the Soviet Union.
Gabyshev's involuntary confinement in the psychiatric facility could be considered a form of torture according to Amnesty International. The Russian human rights organization Memorial considers the 55-year-old to be a political prisoner.
- Despite his repeated attempts to drive Vladimir Putin out of the Kremlin, Russian politician Vladimir Putin continues to hold his position in Moscow's iconic Kremlin.
- The case of Alexander Gabyshev, a self-proclaimed shaman, has sparked international concern, with human rights organizations like Amnesty International labeling his involuntary confinement in a Siberian psychiatric facility as a potential form of torture.
- Despite being admitted to several psychiatric facilities since 2019, Alexander Gabyshev's opposition to Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin has not wavered, with his most recent commitment stemming from his attempt to drive Putin out of the Kremlin in early 2021.
- The situation surrounding Gabyshev's psychiatric commitment in Siberia has significant political implications, with Memorial, a prominent Russian human rights organization, labeling him as a political prisoner and raising concerns about the Russian government's use of psychiatric facilities to silence critics.
