Aktas: The Republican Psychiatric Hospital with Intense Observation stands in the isolated settlement of Aktas, about 40 kilometers northeast of Almaty. The only Kazakh high-security psychiatric facility of its kind, the heavily fortified compound sits on the western edge of a sprawling industrial mining and quarry complex. According to the country’s Health Ministry, more than 80 percent of patients at the institution have committed “grave crimes against others” and are being held under a court-ordered compulsory medical regime.
According to Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty, until now, little information has been publicly available about what happens behind the guarded walls of the Aktas hospital. However, a recent leak of multiple videos by a former patient has sparked widespread discussion. The footage, consisting of secretly recorded interviews, was shared with Azattyq, RFE/RL’s Kazakh Service. The former patient asked Azattyq not to disclose his name and claimed he was at the hospital from 2022 until February this year, with the recordings made in 2025-2026. RFE/RL could not independently verify the recording dates.
The videos reveal patients describing remarkably similar experiences of forced endurance. One patient, Ruslan Kemelov, recounted being tied to a bed and injected against his will for refusing an order from hospital staff, which was simply to wash a sink. The hospital declined to comment on Kemelov’s case due to medical confidentiality.
Other patients shared similar experiences. Samat Sattarov described the effects of being forced to take an antipsychotic drug, leading to prolonged restraint. Alisher Karimov detailed receiving six injections daily for ten days, while being tied to a bed without reprieve, even for basic needs. Sattarov believes such treatment is intended to instill fear and submission in patients.
Involuntary detention on mental health grounds, rights groups argue, should be limited to exceptional, legally defined circumstances. Human rights activist Elena Semenova emphasized that the accounts warrant serious investigation, labeling the practices as torture.
Patients also described being compelled to perform manual labor, such as washing toilets or handling waste, to secure release. Former employees corroborated these claims, stating that patients were threatened with restraint or injections if they resisted. The hospital denied the forced-labor allegations, maintaining that restraint is a last resort used only when medically necessary.
Some of the most serious allegations involve Ward No. 9, described as one of the harshest departments. Despite denials from the hospital’s director, Kazakh sanitary authorities confirmed the existence of a tuberculosis ward and an isolation room, contradicting the hospital’s official stance.
The hospital reported one patient death in the first half of 2026 and acknowledged 10 cases of severe self-harm in the past 18 months. Former patient Sattarov urged for external oversight to verify the statistics on deaths and their causes.
In response to the leaked videos, several government bodies, including the Talgar District Prosecutors Office and the Health Ministry, have launched investigations. Beksultan Dildabekuly, the ombudsmans representative in the Almaty region, issued a stern warning against using coercive measures as punishment or pressure.