“Why does this exist in Russia, why in China, in Belarus, and now—why is it being introduced in Georgia? Because these are totalitarian countries, and unfortunately the Georgian Dream government is trying to activate every mechanism that increases control over the population,” says Eka Chkonia, psychiatrist and head of the Alliance for Better Mental Health, speaking about the mental health registry that the Ministry of Internal Affairs is seeking to establish.
What dangers does such a registry pose to individuals, and what goals is Georgian Dream pursuing? We spoke with Eka Chkonia about these issues.
Ms. Chkonia, please explain to the public why creating a mental health registry is problematic and whether the authorities could use this data against individuals.
First of all, the problem is that this initiative is being driven by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which is demanding access to people’s diagnoses. It wants to have access to this diagnostic information. The registry would cover mental disorders, alcoholism, drug addiction, and substance use disorders.
The law itself states that this information should be used “for public safety.” In effect, they want people’s diagnoses in order to “protect” society from these individuals. That is, diagnoses would be used as a punitive instrument.
Why do you think this idea emerged? Have people with such diagnoses ever actually posed a threat to society?
The issue is that psychiatric diagnoses have been used punitively for years. Stigma is deeply entrenched in society, which makes it very easy to convince the public that this is being done to protect them from “mentally unstable” individuals.
Georgia first adopted a Law on Psychiatric Care in 1995. A second version was adopted in 2008 and further refined in 2015. All efforts were aimed at dismantling stigma around mental health, raising public awareness, and eliminating discriminatory and stereotypical attitudes toward this issue. This was because, during the Soviet era, mental health problems were actively exploited to instill fear and served as a lever of state control over individuals.
This is a repressive mechanism designed to intimidate the population.
As we know, a similar law has been prepared in Russia and is set to come into force in 2026. Is this a reflection of that process?
Yes. Why does this exist in Russia, China, Belarus and now, why is it being introduced in Georgia? Because these are totalitarian countries. Unfortunately, the Georgian Dream government is also trying to activate every mechanism that increases control over the population.
As for Russia, I would add that access will be granted not only to psychiatric diagnoses but also to information about infectious diseases, which is also highly stigmatizing.
Most likely, this information will also become accessible here, to intimidate people. To make this clearer to the public, we can look at the example of the methadone substitution program and how its beneficiaries were manipulated during pre-election periods. People with health problems are easily blackmailed, and pressure can be exerted on them.
Instead of helping these individuals with resocialization and supporting their independence, the state uses them for its own political interests.
These individuals already use state programs, meaning the state already has access to their personal data. Why was it necessary to create a separate registry?
The issue is not the existence of a registry itself. The problem is that the Ministry of Internal Affairs will have access to it. The Ministry of Health and the National Center for Disease Control already need data how many people are receiving treatment, with which diagnoses, how frequently, and so on. This is needed to understand where shortages exist, what services are required, and what support should be offered not for blackmail or coercion.
This information must be strictly confidential and accessible only to those directly involved in care. It must be disclosed only with the patient’s consent.
There has been mention of driver’s licenses and firearm permits. What restrictions does this law impose in that regard?
If you already hold a driver’s license, the law requires you to submit a medical certificate. This process should be regulated properly, ensuring certificates are issued legitimately not through falsification for 15 GEL.
Instead of fixing that system, they are targeting mental health diagnoses, which is fundamentally wrong.
Medical information is protected by law. Does this mean the Georgian Dream government is violating its own legal standards?
Absolutely. This contradicts our own laws, which include clear provisions on confidentiality and non-disclosure of information.
If there were a specific case, authorities should apply to a court and obtain the information legally. Under this proposal, however, they could obtain personal data without either the patient’s consent or a court order.
For example, if someone participating in protest rallies becomes undesirable, a police officer could simply look them up in a database. If it shows that the person once had any mental health issue even long ago this law would allow the authorities to detain them and take them to a psychiatric institution.
This is similar to what was attempted in the case of Nino Datashvili. Even though she had no diagnosis and was not listed in any registry, they found a note in her medical history stating “emotional lability” and tried to use it against her as a punitive measure.
So this registry could become an instrument of political persecution?
Absolutely.
In any case, these diagnoses will be used to suppress people, damage their reputations, and obstruct their professional activities. They will say, “This person was treated by a psychiatrist.” Someone may even be barred from holding a public office simply because they once had obsessive-compulsive disorder, an eating disorder, or a depressive episode at some point in their life.
People often talk about schizophrenia, portraying it as a tragic condition where a person is completely incapacitated, lying in bed and staring at the ceiling. In reality, the risk posed by a person with schizophrenia is minimal.
If such laws are characteristic only of authoritarian regimes, and such systems can obtain and misuse information even without laws, why is there a need to legalize this?
I strongly suspect that these data will be used for electoral purposes.
For example, ahead of the 2024 elections, several patients came to our mental health center asking to be removed from the registry. They told us they were being called and told their driver’s licenses would be revoked. Why were these people contacted right before the elections?
If a person has recovered and has not sought treatment for years, do they still remain in the system? And who is responsible for removing them?
In practice, once a person enters such a registry, they remain there indefinitely. Even lists from the Soviet era of people who once received treatment at psychiatric dispensaries still exist. I have around 10,000 such patients. If the system does not register that a person has died, their data simply remains there.
Legally, outpatient clinics should remove individuals from registries if they no longer require treatment or have not sought care for years.
Do you think private clinics will also be required to provide patient data?
So far, no such demand has been made, but there is a general provision stating that all doctors are required to register patients.
However, I do not intend to provide information about my patients to anyone. What decisions others will make, I cannot say. Unfortunately, some people cooperated very effectively with the regime during the Soviet period, and they will probably do so again now.
Experts say that creating such a registry contradicts international standards. Does this mean a Russian model is being introduced in this field as well?
Yes, that is exactly what it means. We are following Russia step by step. If you look at Russian websites, you can easily see what may happen in Georgia after some time.
Unfortunately, the psychiatric community alone cannot do much to stop this repressive mechanism. But personally, as the Alliance for Better Mental Health, we will certainly not cooperate with the regime. Other organizations will likely issue statements as well, although you know the situation of NGOs in the country today.
Do you think mental health conditions in the country will worsen?
In effect, we are returning to a Soviet-style system one focused on coercion and force, rather than on recovery, care, and resocialization of individuals.