Amnesty International has stood up for the Vitebsk doctor Igor Postnova placed by court order in a psychiatric hospital for compulsory treatment. The organization called on all concerned to urgent action: write in Belarusian, Russian, English or your own language letter to the Minister of Health of Belarus Vasily Zharko and Prosecutor General Alexander Kaniuk.

The international human rights organization asks those who will write letters to remind the responsible officials of Belarus, which forced psychiatric treatment should be applied only in cases of severe mental illness, if there is a risk that the person will definitely cause imminent harm to themselves or others. Authors also appeals to the Belarusian government representatives is required to request the latest re-appoint a psychiatric examination to Dr. Igor Postnov, and to ensure that he was provided with proper legal advice and given the necessary legal defense.

The document, published under the title "Candid psychiatrist forcibly deprived of his liberty», Amnesty International reported the developments:

"A psychiatrist working in Belarus, Igor Postnov, has been forcibly detained and treated in the hospital where he works following his outspoken criticism of the health care system in Vitebsk, a city in the north of the country. Igor Postnov, a psychiatrist working at the Vitebsk Regional Centre for Psychiatry and Narcology, has released a number of interviews over the past 18 months on YouTube criticizing government policy and the management of health care in the city. In his interviews he has raised issues such as medical errors, misuse of funds; in June 2013, he criticized the police's use of in-patient psychiatric testing to deal with homeless people and vagrants".

"Igor Postnov has had conflicts with his managers for his outspoken criticism, and on 16 August a Psychiatric Commission at the hospital where he works concluded that he required forced psychiatric treatment for a “psychopathic personality disorder with a mania for persecuting the authorities”. That day, Igor Postnov phoned a journalist from Radio Free Europe to say he was detained, after which his phone was disconnected"- Amnesty International informs about details.

Igor Postnov may have been admitted to the hospital for his criticism of the law is not prohibited by the state of health care in the Vitebsk region. If this is confirmed, Amnesty International recognizes him as a prisoner of conscience, according to the document published by the influential international human rights organization.

Fully document of Amnisty International can be found here.