CCPR/C/127/D/2920/2016
The facts as submitted by the author
2.1
The author is a lawyer and a human rights defender. In the interest of a client she
represented in a lawsuit, she appealed to the President of Kazakhstan, claiming that the
other party in the lawsuit was being protected by the deputy of the majlis (lower chamber)
of the parliament of Kazakhstan, Yerlan Nigmatulin. Following a complaint by Mr.
Nigmatulin, the author was charged on 25 September 2009 with “knowingly false
denunciation” under article 351 of the Criminal Code.
2.2
The author was subjected to a preventive measure in the form of a travel ban. On 9
February 2010, the Balkhash city prosecutor’s office asked the court to replace the travel
ban with an order for the author’s arrest. On 12 February 2010, the author was arrested
based on the ruling of the Balkhash city court. On the same day, she lodged a complaint
with the Karaganda regional court against the Balkhash city court’s arrest order.2 On 16
February 2010, her complaint was dismissed on the grounds that the arrest ruling could not
be appealed according to article 403 (2) of the Criminal Procedure Code. 3 On 20 April 2010,
the author appealed to the President of the Supreme Court, but received a reply that, as the
ruling had not been appealed, the Supreme Court could not consider her complaint.
Episode 1 of forced hospitalization
2.3
Despite the author’s objection, on 26 February 2010, the Balkhash city court ordered
that she undergo a compulsory psychiatric examination. On 2 April 2010 and 7 July 2010, 4
psychiatric experts concluded that the author suffered from “chronic delusional disorder”.
On 5 August 2010, the Balkhash city court found the author “mentally unfit”5 to stand trial
and ordered her forced hospitalization and inpatient treatment. On 2 November 2010, the
Karaganda regional court confirmed this decision on appeal. The author was kept in a
closed psychiatric hospital in Aktas from 12 January to 22 September 2011.
2.4
Based on the decision of the Talgar district court6 of 6 September 2011, the author
was released from the hospital and registered in the Balkhash psychiatric centre for
compulsory “dynamic monitoring”7 and outpatient treatment as of 27 September 2011.
Episode 2 of forced hospitalization
2.5
Following a visit to the Balkhash psychiatric centre with her sister on 12 December
2011, a medical commission decided to have the author forcibly hospitalized and treated
since she had not taken the medication prescribed to her, her mental health had deteriorated
and the commission held that she could constitute a threat to others. The author was kept in
the psychiatric facility for two weeks and was released on 29 December 2011. On 4 January
2012, the author lodged a complaint with the Balkhash city prosecutor’s office against the
Deputy Сhief Medical Officer, claiming that he had forced her to write a statement that she
had stayed voluntarily in the psychiatric facility for treatment. The author appealed her
forced psychiatric hospitalization to the Balkhash city court, but to no avail. Further appeals
remained unsuccessful.
Episode 3 of forced hospitalization
2.6
On 31 January 2012, within the supervisory review proceedings, the Supreme Court
quashed the Balkhash city court’s decision of 5 August 2010 and the Karaganda regional
2
3
4
5
6
7
2
The court decision states that this decision can be appealed within three days.
According to the author, this norm was excluded from the Criminal Procedure Code on 10 December
2009.
Following the psychiatric examination of 2 April 2010, it was recommended to conduct regular
inpatient psychiatric examinations. A second examination was conducted on 7 July 2010.
The Committee takes note of the terminology used by the Committee on the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities, which refers rather to intellectual or psychosocial disability, but here and elsewhere the
Human Rights Committee cites the wording used by the author and the State party in their
submissions (indicated by quotation marks).
The procedure was initiated by the Chief Medical Officer of the prison mental hospital in Aktas.
Dynamic monitoring is defined in the Public Health and Health-Care Code as the systematic
monitoring of the state of public health, as well as the provision of necessary medical care based on
the results of that observation. See also para. 4.6 below.