ARAP CASE: COURT CONFIRMS COMMITTAL TO PSYCHIATRIC

C O N F I D E N T I A L MOSCOW 003953 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/13/2017 TAGS: PHUM PGOV SOCI RS SUBJECT: ARAP CASE: COURT CONFIRMS COMMITTAL TO PSYCHIATRIC HOSPITAL REF: A. MOSCOW 3890 ¶B. MOSCOW 3805 Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Daniel A. Russell. Reason: 1.4 (d). -------------- Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) Despite testimony of independent psychiatrists from Moscow, a local court in Murmansk ruled August 10 in favor of continued involuntary committal of United Civic Front activist Larissa Arap for up to six months, at the discretion of the local psychiatric hospital that committed her in the first place. An Independent Psychiatric Association (IPA)-composed commission convened by Human Rights Ombudsman Vladimir Lukin (Ref A) examined Arap August 9 and 10, and testified to the court in support of Arap's release to home care. IPA President Yuriy Savenko, who led the commission, will report his findings to Lukin on August 13. The Embassy is urging Lukin and his staff to request that the Procurator General appeal the local court decision as soon as possible. End summary. -------------- Lukin's Commission Engaged -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Independent Psychiatric Association (IPA) President Dr. Yuriy Savenko and member Dr. Lyubov Vinogradova met with Arap in the Apetity psychiatric hospital in the Murmansk region on August 9 and 10. Vinogradova told us that Arap "is not healthy, and needs psychiatric treatment, but not in such crude and harsh conditions." Vinogradova said that Arap was in "better condition" than she would have been if she had received no treatment at all, but that she would be even better at home. She noted that Arap had lost approximately 10 kilos (22 lbs.) since being institutionalized in early July, as a result of her hunger strikes, but added that Arap now understood that additional hunger strikes would not be an effective form of protest. Vinogradova added that Arap's current treatment is detrimental because she is being kept too far from her family and has not had contact with her own doctors. ¶3. (SBU) The IPA team testified at the August 10 court hearing that while Arap needed care, forced treatment at a hospital was not necessary, and urged her release to home care. They also testified that the manner in which Arap was hospitalized violated Russia's law "On Psychiatric Medical Aid." ¶4. (SBU) Arap testified on her own behalf. Vinogradova �00A;commented that Arap was calm and responded to many questions by the judge during the seven-hour hearing. According to press accounts, Igor Bulantsev, the hospital's deputy senior doctor, testified that Arap had been diagnosed with a serious mental disorder and required constant medication. If released to home care, he claimed she would be in danger of missing her medication and would again require hospitalization. -------------- To Be Hospitalized for up to Six Months -------------- ¶5. (SBU) Despite the IPA team's testimony, the court ordered Arap to be hospitalized at the hospital's discretion for up to six months. After that time, another court hearing would be required to continue her hospitalization. Vinogradova told us that she did not expect the hospital to hold Arap that long. She surmised that the hospital might release Arap in as few as three weeks. ¶6. (C) Lukin's Deputy, Georgiy Kunadze, told us August 13 that he and Lukin were awaiting a briefing and a written report from the IPA team later that day. While he would not comment definitively until they had read the report, Kunadze told us that preliminary comments from the team indicated that Arap did not need to be hospitalized. Kunadze added that "there is no evidence that her treatment there is connected in any way with her political activities (i.e., her membership in the UCF),but we can already say that there is substance to the criticism of how the medical officials have handled the case." He said that this was part of a larger problem, namely that "there is still today the Soviet-era practice of using psychiatric treatment to suppress dissent." -------------- Next Steps -------------- ¶7. (C) Arap's family has already appealed the July 18 court decision that validated the initial doctor's order to commit Arap (Ref B),and plans to appeal the August 10 decision. Both appeals would be heard at the oblast-level court. According to Kunadze Lukin could request that the Procurator General appeal the Apetity decision, also at the Murmansk Oblast court. ¶8. (C) Comment: It is a positive step that the Russian Human Rights Ombudsman's efforts fielded a team of medical professionals to Murmansk, who made their own analyses and testified in court in favor of Arap's release. Unfortunately, the local court deferred to the local doctors who forcibly hospitalized Arap in the first place. The Embassy is urging Lukin and his staff to move quickly on this case and to request that the Procurator General appeal the local court's decision. RUSSELL