Teenager from Ingushetia placed in mental hospital after complaining to human rights activists about threats from relatives

A 16-year-old boy from Ingushetia, who complained to human rights activists about death threats from relatives, reported that he is in a psychiatric hospital in Stavropol. The institution denies that they have such a patient.

As "Kavkazsky Uzel" reported, on July 4, human rights activists of the Crisis Group SK SOS* filed a report with the Investigative Committee about the disappearance of a teenager who complained about death threats. The authors of the appeal feared that the boy could have been killed or forcibly isolated, and asked to conduct an investigation and, if necessary, open a criminal case. Representatives of two human rights organizations tried to contact the boy's relatives, but were unable to establish contact with them.

The teenager, who had not contacted human rights activists for about a month, told them at the end of July that he was in a psychiatric clinic in Stavropol. The young man asked for help and wanted someone to be sent to him, but after that he again disappeared from contact and has not appeared online for a week, the Crisis Group SK SOS* reported on August 6.

The young man gave human rights activists the address of the regional psychiatric hospital where he is located, but the staff of the institution deny that they have such a patient. “There is a possibility that he has already been taken from the clinic, or the staff were forbidden to disclose information about him,” the organization’s Telegram channel said.

Human rights activists note that the young man was allowed to let people know about himself after they filed a statement with the working group on enforced disappearances at the UN Council, and journalists sent a request to law enforcement agencies.

In response to this request, the Ministry of Internal Affairs was unable to confirm that the teenager is currently alive and well. The Ministry of Internal Affairs also confirmed that a certain psychiatric dispensary inspector visited him, but did not find any signs of cruelty from his relatives. At the same time, the department denies that the head of the Nazran district juvenile affairs department personally visited him - she previously stated that she had communicated with the teenager's family, but after his disappearance she stopped admitting this. In addition, it follows from the response of the Ministry of Internal Affairs that the teenager is a witness or victim in some criminal case.

The teenager stated that his relatives took him out of town and put a gun to his head, but then promised to kill him later, when "his uncle returns from the SVO," the organization noted.

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