On Monday, a Russian court decided that American citizen Joseph Tater should undergo mandatory psychiatric care at a medical facility following allegations that he assaulted a law enforcement officer in the previous year.
A judge from a Moscow district court determined that Tater was unfit to undergo a trial and should instead receive mandatory psychiatric care in a medical facility, as requested by the prosecution, according to reports from the TASS news agency.
“The court just took a decision to free our client Joseph Tater from further punishment and ruled he undergo forcible measures of a medical character in an in-patient facility of a specialised type with intensive observation,” his lawyer Polina Vlasyuk said after a hearing held behind closed doors.
“The phrase ‘forcible measures of a medical nature’ refers to mandatory psychiatric treatment” is how one might describe the Russian terminology for involuntary mental health care.
Vlasyuk stated she intends to contest the decision.
In recent years, Russia has detained multiple U.S. citizens, accusing them of various offenses including espionage, denouncing the Russian military, as well as minor crimes like theft and domestic issues—prompting allegations from Washington about Moscow using these individuals as pawns through hostage situations often aimed at facilitating prisoner swaps.
– ‘Delusional ideas’ –
Tater — who said he rejected his US citizenship in a court hearing last year and claimed he was being tracked by the CIA — was arrested in Moscow in August for allegedly abusing staff at a hotel, then later accused of assaulting a policewoman.
He was initially found guilty of petty hooliganism before being slapped with a much more serious criminal charge of attacking an official, punishable by up to five years in prison.
Tater was transferred from pre-trial detention to a psychiatric unit following assessments by a medical board indicating symptoms such as “stress, impulsive behavior,” along with “delusions and misguided beliefs.” The report also noted feelings of being persecuted and an inability to critically assess his condition, according to TASS.
Russia’s criminal code allows forced treatment in a psychiatric hospital for offenders who are deemed not to have been criminally responsible when they carried out their actions.
On Monday, when appearing at the Meshchansky district court in Moscow, Tater was accompanied by a robust medical attendant, according to reports from the RIA Novosti news agency.
Prior to the hearing, he stood with his hands clasped, appeared emotionless, and didn’t utter a word, according to a WARINFO journalist who observed him.
At a court hearing in September Tater said he wanted to reject his US citizenship. He demanded that embassy officials leave and said that he had been targeted by the CIA for years, Russian news agencies reported.
bur/sbk
