Patients shocked with stun guns, kept in shackles at private clinic in Bishkek

Officers of the State Committee for National Security of Kyrgyzstan (SCNS) have shut down an illegal rehabilitation center Path to Life in Bishkek. Although the facility presented itself as a clinic for addiction treatment, it was in fact a place where patients were subjected to abuse, the SCNS press center reported.

The investigation found that the center operated with serious violations of the law. The roles of doctors were performed by former addicts who had no medical education or licenses. Instead of professional treatment, they carried out so-called «pseudo-psychiatric» procedures.

To «control» patients, staff reportedly used harsh methods, including:

• electric stun guns, batons, and baseball bats;
• tying people to beds with restraining bandages;
• locking patients in dark isolation rooms for seven — eight days;
• denying access to toilets, forcing patients to use diapers.

In addition, basic medical safety standards were completely ignored. Patients suffering from serious infectious diseases—such as HIV, tuberculosis, syphilis, and hepatitis—were kept in shared rooms with others, posing a direct risk of mass infection.

A month of «rehabilitation» cost relatives 80,000 soms or more. Families were unaware of the methods actually used on their loved ones. During searches, law enforcement officers seized physical evidence indicating the involvement of practicing medical workers in the scheme.

Eight suspects have been placed in temporary detention facility.

• The SCNS urges all individuals who have suffered from the actions of those involved to contact the duty service of the committee’s department for Chui region at +996 (312) 53-03-01.