In accordance with the amendments adopted by the Saeima in the final reading on Thursday, 23 July, the Saeima will henceforth be able to restore the status of persons wrongly committed to psychiatric facilities during the Soviet occupation. These individuals will also be eligible to receive the status of a politically repressed person.
Amendments to the law “On Persons Placed without Justification in Psychiatric Medical Treatment Institutions of Latvia and USSR in the Time Period from 17 June 1940 to 21 August 1991” and the law “On the Determination of the Status of a Politically Repressed Person for Victims of the Communist and Nazi Regime” were proposed by Saeima MPs.
The law already provided a mechanism for victims to restore their status and remedy the consequences of unjustified institutionalisation by submitting an application to the Office of the Prosecutor. In practice, however, many victims have not pursued this option. According to Saeima MPs, this is often due to a lack of confidence in the impartiality of the expert commission or because the victims have reached an advanced age and find it difficult to engage in complex procedures.
The amendments introduce an additional route whereby the status of victims may also be restored by a resolution of the Saeima in cases where restoration is not possible under the existing procedure. Applications for the restoration of status will be examined by the Saeima Citizenship, Migration and Social Cohesion Committee. The Committee will be authorised to request documents, hear testimony, and invite experts. If it concludes that a person was wrongly committed to a psychiatric facility, the Committee may prepare a draft resolution for consideration at a plenary sitting.
If adopted, the resolution will also provide for amendments to the relevant official records concerning the victim and for other measures related to the restoration of status. Implementation of the resolution will be supervised by the Office of the Prosecutor.
The amendments also expands eligibility to receive the status of a politically repressed person to include individuals who were wrongly committed to psychiatric facilities during the Soviet occupation. Saeima MPs emphasise that the amendments aim to ensure historical justice and reaffirm condemnation of the consequences of political repression. The amendments do not alter the existing procedure for granting the status of a politically repressed person. The Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs will continue preparing the relevant decisions following an assessment of the documents submitted.
The amendments additionally require the Cabinet of Ministers to establish, by 30 June 2027, a collegial body tasked with researching and assessing crimes of the occupation regime related to repressive psychiatry, as well as informing the public and competent authorities of its findings. The body must include representatives of Latvia’s professional psychiatric community, memory institutions, non-governmental organisations, public administration institutions, and the judiciary.
During the Soviet period, the occupation authorities frequently used psychiatry as a tool to suppress political opponents. Individuals who criticised the regime, took part in protests, or otherwise expressed dissenting views could be declared mentally ill and confined to psychiatric facilities.
Saeima Press Service