CHARUSHEV - FACTS MURKY: PSYCHIATRIC TREATMENT OR POLITICAL

UNCLAS ST PETERSBURG 000033 E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: RS PHUM SUBJECT: CHARUSHEV - FACTS MURKY: PSYCHIATRIC TREATMENT OR POLITICAL PUNISHMENT? ¶1. (SBU) Summary. Vadim Charushev, coordinator of a number of popular opposition political internet communities, was involuntarily committed to a psychiatric hospital on March 7 where he underwent treatment. While the exact circumstances of his hospitalization are unclear, he allegedly wrote in a letter from the hospital that he felt sick and needed medical assistance. In that letter, he claimed he became sick after he had been forcibly injected with an unknown drug by unknown assailants, and charged that the incident was a result of his ongoing conflict with his former employer - the Petersburg Pension Fund. On March 13, the court extended his term of forced hospitalization. However, possibly as the result of the public campaign to free him, he was released on March 20 into the custody of his mother. End Summary. ¶2. (SBU) Vadim Charushev openly expressed his opposition political views as the coordinator of a number of internet communities at the Russian network vkontakte.ru. One of these communities, which is highly critical of the Russian government and Prime Minister Putin in particular, was one of the largest in the entire network with about 10,000 members. His political views reportedly became a source of conflict with his employer, a district Pension Fund, where Charushev worked as systems administrator. In December 2008, he quit his job and moved to another department of the Pension Fund in another district. ¶3. (SBU) Information on Vadim Charushev's forced placement to a psychiatric clinic became known to public thanks to the efforts of St. Petersburg United Civil Front (OGF) activists, who were in touch with Charushev's friends, contacts, family and lawyer. OGF remained our main source of information on the subject through to its conclusion on March 20. Charushev himself was not an OGF member, but for the past several weeks he has maintained contact with OGF members. They became acquainted at a political debate between OGF members and United Russia Legislative Assembly Deputy Vitaliy Milonov. ¶4. (SBU) We do not know exactly what happened on March 6 and 7 except that on March 7 Charushev was admitted into a psychiatric hospital and subjected to unknown treatments. According to a letter purportedly written by Charushev, in the early hours of March 7 he called the ambulance himself because he was feeling unwell. OGF contacts suggested that Charushev's father, with whom he has political disagreements as well, might have called the police, who then handed him over to the psychiatric hospital. ¶5. (SBU) Shortly after his hospitalization, Charushev's friends contacted the Civil Commission for Human Rights, an NGO which provides legal support to alleged victims of forced psychiatric treatment. The Commission's lawyer represented Charushev's interests at the March 13 court hearing. The court ruled to extend Charushev's hospitalization, and the lawyer began preparing to appeal the decision through the St. Petersburg City Court. ¶6. (SBU) On March 16, a letter appeared on the internet purportedly written by Charushev by hand while in the hospital and given to one of his visitors for posting on the internet. The letter claims that Charushev himself had sought one-time medical assistance but had been opposed to actual hospitalization. The letter also claimed that his original sickness was caused by the injection of an unknown drug forced upon him an unknown man and woman while he was sitting on a park bench around 100 yards away from the Pension Fund building. The letter stated that he did not remember anything after that until he revived and found himself in a different location. He claims that this attack on him might have been organized by the Pension Fund Administration or was somehow connected to his conflict with that agency. ¶7. (SBU) On March 17, OGF organized a protest in front of the psychiatric hospital. About 30 people, including Charushev's internet contacts, attended the protest and demanded his immediate release. The Hospital's Chief Doctor, who was allegedly intimidated by all the attention his institution received during those days, came out to the protesters and promised that Charushev would be released on March 20. ¶8. (SBU) Throughout the day on March 20 the press continued to report that Charushin's whereabouts were unclear and we received conflicting reports regarding his status. However, in the late afternoon, we were able to confirm that he had been released at about noon that day into the custody of his mother. ¶9. (SBU) Comment. During Charushev's stay in the hospital, OGF members made a number of public statements which charged that the incident was punishment for Charushev's political activities. They also charged that public authorities were testing the public's reaction to the case, with the intent of applying forced psychiatric treatment more frequently in the future if the public's reaction was subdued. Post is not in a position to evaluate the validity of these claims, specifically whether Charushev's hospitalization was politically-motivated or reflected his family's assessment that he needed medical assistance. We will continue to monitor the aftermath of the case and attempt to establish greater clarity. End Comment. GWALTNEY