More Psychiatric Exams Ordered For Kazakh Lawyer

Zinaida Mukhortova

A Kazakh lawyer who is undergoing forced medical treatment in a psychiatric clinic says she has been told to undergo a new "psychiatric assessment" before any decision is made on her release.

In an exclusive interview with RFE/RL's Kazakh Service on October 8, Zinaida Mukhortova said she is being held among 60 patients in a psychiatric clinic in the central Kazakh town of Balkhash.

Mukhortova, 56, who was forced into nine months of psychiatric treatment last year, says she is mentally healthy and that the legal actions against her are politically motivated.

She says authorities began investigating her mental competence after she filed complaints against a regional governor.

Mukhortova's latest forced psychiatric hospitalization began on August 9.

Doctors say she suffers from delusions.

Human Rights Watch has demanded Mukhortova's release from the clinic.