Behind Bars and Barbed Wire: Believer from Ufa Forcibly Placed in Psychiatric Hospital

Mariya Gareeva, a 36-year-old Jehovah's Witness from Ufa, has been held in a psychiatric hospital since June 22, 2026, after being forcibly sent there by court order for an expert study. On July 6, 2026, the court of appeal deemed this detention justified, but the believer and her legal team emphasize that the hospitalization is unlawful and violates Mariya's rights.

The believer was placed in the special forensic psychiatric department of the Republican Clinical Psychiatric Hospital in Ufa — a standalone building surrounded by a three-meter fence topped with barbed wire, guards, surveillance cameras and barred windows.

In February, the Bashkir Investigative Committee initiated criminal prosecution against six believers, including Mariya Gareeva. As part of the preliminary investigation, a standard outpatient expert study was conducted for all of the defendants. According to Mariya's appeal, during this examination the doctor "essentially assumed the role of an investigator" and twice threatened to admit her to the psychiatric hospital. The believer refused to answer questions relating to the criminal case, exercising her constitutional right not to testify against herself, however she freely discussed her personal life. The expert, and later the investigator, considered this grounds for inpatient placement. As a result, on June 22, 2026, the Ordzhonikidzevskiy District Court of Ufa placed the believer in hospital for a psychological and psychiatric expert study.

Mariya challenged this decision. "It was specifically my refusal to answer questions concerning the criminal case that resulted in finding the outpatient expert study 'insufficient.' Exercising a constitutional right cannot have negative consequences, and refusing to testify against oneself does not indicate a mental disorder," her appeal to the Supreme Court of Bashkortostan stated. Mariya added that she has never been registered with a psychiatrist, has never sought psychiatric assistance before, and the case materials contain no evidence of behavioral or developmental abnormalities.

The rationale for hospitalization boils down to a generic formula: "for deeper study of mental processes, clarification of diagnosis" — such a reason is not provided for by Russian law. Moreover, the investigator presented Mariya with the outpatient expert conclusion and the order for inpatient placement only one hour before the start of the court hearing, depriving the believer of the opportunity to prepare a defense.

Mariya Gareeva is preparing for the hearing at the court of cassation while still in hospital. Her conditions of detention are extremely restrictive: personal belongings, including underwear, are kept by staff in a separate locked room. Upon admission, Mariya was given pajamas several sizes too large. Only toilet paper and soap are allowed in her room.

According to the UN Human Rights Committee, forced and groundless hospitalization is a form of deprivation of liberty that violates human rights and may inflict significant harm. Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia have faced such treatment before: in 2019, Timofey Zhukov, a believer from Surgut, was unlawfully placed in a psychiatric hospital for 14 days. He later succeeded in having these actions recognized as unlawful.