The professional community working in the field of mental health in Georgia, relevant professional societies and organizations condemn the use of psychiatry for political purposes and call on the Georgian justice system to prevent any attempt in this direction.

“The professional community working in the field of mental health in Georgia, relevant professional societies and organizations condemn the use of psychiatry for political purposes and call on the Georgian justice system to prevent any attempt in this direction, - reads a joint statement of organizations, professional associations and specialists operating in the field of mental health.

According to them, “the use of psychiatry for political purposes is a common method of political repression in authoritarian and dictatorial systems.”

As stated in the statement, Nino Datashvili faces 20 days of forced psychiatric observation at the Samkharauli National Forensic Bureau, whereas emotional lability does not constitute grounds for establishing insanity.

“In the Soviet Union, isolating dissidents from society by forcibly placing them in psychiatric institutions and “treating” them was a common method of political retribution. Such practices, according to international norms, are qualified as torture and inhuman treatment.

Georgia was no exception in this regard – it is enough to recall the case of journalist Nazi Shamanauri, who was forcibly placed in the Asatiani psychiatric hospital for her fight against corruption and beaten to death.

The case of Nino Datashvili is particularly alarming: 6 years ago, against the background of acute and chronic pain caused by a lumbar disc injury, she developed psycho-emotional difficulties. This is a natural and common reaction in response to chronic pain.

Medical form 100, along with the main diagnosis, mentions emotional lability, which is not a clinical diagnosis according to any classification system of disorders.

The fact that the prosecutor's office used this very old story as the basis for ordering a psychiatric examination, and the court satisfied the prosecutor's motion, indicates an attempt by the current justice system to use psychiatry as an instrument of political repression.

As a result, Nino Datashvili faces 20 days of forced psychiatric observation at the Samkharauli National Bureau of Forensics, whereas emotional lability is not a basis for establishing insanity.

According to world statistics, so-called widespread mental health problems – anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and, in this context, emotional lability – affect every fourth person, at least once in their life. Therefore, conducting a psychiatric examination without the person’s participation in the decision-making process is a violation of fundamental human rights and may amount to inhuman and degrading treatment.

We urge you to prevent this alarming and vicious practice and not turn psychiatry and medicine into a tool of political retribution, as is typical of fascist political regimes. Otherwise, tragedies like those of Nazi Shamanauri may become our new reality and everyday life,” reads the statement.

The appeal is signed by more than 200 specialists, professional associations and active organizations (the list is subject to renewal).

Yesterday Nino Datashvili’s human rights defenders disseminated information that the prosecutor’s office “completely groundlessly requested a court psychiatric examination of Datashvili, which the court granted.”

In this regard, the Prosecutor's Office explained that the defense itself presented documents reflecting Nino Datashvili's health condition, which indicated psycho-emotional lability as a concomitant disease, and therefore it was considered appropriate to order an examination.

In response to the Prosecutor's Office's statement, Nino Datashvili's lawyer noted that Datashvili has psycho-emotional lability, which is a symptom and not a diagnosis.