USSURIISK, Russia -- A court in Siberia has prolonged the forced treatment in a psychiatric clinic for a Yakut shaman who became known across Russia for his attempts to march to Moscow to drive Russian President Vladimir Putin out of Kremlin.
Shaman Aleksandr Gabyshev's lawyer, Aleksei Pryanishnikov, told RFE/RL on August 1 that the court's decision came after a questionable health assessment.
Pryanishnikov said that in mid-July, a group of medical experts decided to transfer Gabyshev from a psychiatric clinic to a regular hospital, concluding that his "condition had improved."
However, last week, a new medical commission concluded that the shaman's psychiatric health condition "had worsened" and that he must be transferred back to a psychiatric clinic.
Pryaninshnikov accused officials of hastily gathering together the new commission to change the decision.
"It looks like the proper medical conclusion was made because of somebody's 'negligence,' and it was forced to be changed at the last moment. Aleksandr [Gabyshev] is now in a very stressed mood because of the latest decision. Plus, he is being treated by superpotent substances," Pryanishnikov said.
It was not immediately clear why a new commission had been put together.
Gabyshev had been stopped several times by the Russian authorities since 2019 when he tried to march from his native Siberian region of Yakutia to Moscow with the stated goal of driving Putin out of office.
He was sent to a psychiatric clinic against his will in July after a court found him "mentally unfit" during a hearing in which he had been accused of committing a "violent act against a police officer" when he was being forcibly removed from his home to be taken to a psychiatric clinic in late January.
The ruling was challenged by Gabyshev's lawyers and supporters, who say his detention is an attempt to silence dissent.
The Moscow-based Memorial Human Rights Center has recognized Gabyshev as a political prisoner. Amnesty International has launched a campaign calling for his release.