Associated Press
August 28

Two Uzbek human rights activists were forcibly put in a mental hospital Wednesday after staging a protest against alleged government corruption and police abuse.

Yelena Urlayeva and Larisa Vdovina were among at least five demonstrators detained outside the Justice Ministry on Tuesday as they attempted to protest human rights violations in the Central Asian nation.

The two were held at a police station overnight and on Wednesday were taken to a mental hospital, Urlayeva told reporters in the hospital. She said she had been put in an overcrowded ward and was told she would have to sleep on the floor. Vdovina was taken to a different hospital.

The other protesters were released on Tuesday. One of them, Olga Krasnova, said she had been severely beaten by police officers while in custody.

Uzbek President Islam Karimov has ruled the former Soviet republic with an iron hand, forcing opposition leaders into exile and keeping the media under tight state control.

Rights activists are watched by police and rare attempts at public protest are usually prevented. Rights activists say psychiatric treatment is used as a way to silence dissidents — a common practice in the former Soviet Union.

Uzbekistan has come under severe international criticism for its poor human rights record and reluctance to carry out democratic reforms since the 1991 Soviet collapse, but its international standing has risen over the past year since it offered support for the U.S.-led anti-terrorism campaign, allowing coalition forces to use its airspace and bases.

Urlayeva, an activist from a group called the Human Rights Organization of Uzbekistan, has been battling with authorities for months over a court decision to forcibly treat her in a mental hospital. Last month she lost an appeal against the decision, which she says is illegal and linked to her activism.

Last year Urlayeva spent several months in a mental hospital, but was discharged by authorities under pressure from international rights groups and diplomats. A court later ruled that her forcible psychiatric treatment was found illegal.

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