Former Aktas patients detail forced injections and restraints in leaked videos

August 18, 2026 at 03:46 PM2 min

This digest was compiled by AI from multiple sources — links to the originals are below.

Videos leaked by a former patient show patients at the Aktas psychiatric hospital describing forced injections and days-long restraints. The footage, shared with RFE/RL's Kazakh Service Azattyq, has circulated on social media, prompting public discussion about the high-security facility near Almaty. The Health Ministry says more than 80 percent of patients there are held under court-ordered compulsory treatment for grave crimes.

Key Facts

The Republican Psychiatric Hospital with Intense Observation is located in the settlement of Aktas, about 40 kilometers northeast of Almaty, and is the only high-security psychiatric facility of its kind in Kazakhstan.
More than 80 percent of patients at Aktas have committed grave crimes against others and are held under a court-ordered compulsory medical regime, according to the Health Ministry.
Former patient Ruslan Kemelov said he was tied to a bed for refusing an order from hospital staff and was then given an injection against his will.
Former patient Alisher Karimov said he received 60 injections over 10 days and was tied to a bed for 10 days without being untied to use the toilet.

Aktas Psychiatric Hospital

The Republican Psychiatric Hospital with Intense Observation stands in the settlement of Aktas, about 40 kilometers northeast of Almaty, on the western edge of an industrial mining and quarry complex. It is the only Kazakh high-security psychiatric facility of its kind. More than 80 percent of patients there have committed grave crimes against others and are held under a court-ordered compulsory medical regime, according to the Health Ministry.

Forced Injections and Restraints

Ruslan Kemelov said he was tied to a bed for refusing an order from hospital staff and was subsequently given an injection against his will. Asked what prompted the restraint, he answered: 'I refused to wash the sink.' Former patient Samat Sattarov described the effects of being forced to take an antipsychotic drug, including being restrained afterward. Sattarov said that after decanoate a person can neither walk, nor sit, nor lie down normally, and that he lay tied to a bed for 10 days. Alisher Karimov said he received six injections a day, 60 injections in 10 days, and was tied to a bed for 10 days without being untied to use the toilet.

Leaked Footage

A former patient who asked not to be named provided the footage to Azattyq, RFE/RL's Kazakh Service, after leaking multiple videos on social media. He said he was a patient at the hospital from 2022 until February this year and that the footage was recorded in 2025–2026. RFE/RL said it was unable to independently verify the dates on which the footage was recorded. Some of the videos have been published on social media, and some videos obtained by Azattyq are new.