Kazakh language activist Ruza Baisenbaitegi, who was forcibly placed in a psychiatric hospital in the northern Pavlodar region, has been released after widespread condemnations on social media, a Kazakh human right group said on January 26. Baisenbaitegi, 66, was taken to the hospital by police and paramedics on January 24 after allegedly arguing with a stranger who demanded she answer his questions in Russian. Baisenbaitegi's supporters have called the incident a "provocation" staged by the authorities. Kazakh is constitutionally mandated as the state language, while Russian is also an official language in the former Soviet republic. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Kazakh Service, click here.
Kazakh Activist Released From Psychiatric Hospital After Public Outcry
Ruza Baisenbaitegi (file photo)