"My body is my husband's property, and I have to endure it": A mother of many children from the Vladimir region won compensation for the mental hospital where her ex-husband, a priest, sent her.
Elena Manko She won a 300-ruble lawsuit against the Ministry of Finance and a psychiatric hospital for illegal hospitalization, where she spent over a month, Chesnok reports. She initially demanded 2,5 million.
The court found that Elena was detained without legal grounds, subjected to forced medical interventions, and administered powerful drugs.
Elena's conflict with her husband, a priest Sergei Manko, The case came to the media's attention in the summer of 2022. It was revealed that the priest had been beating his wife. These beatings were "systematic." For example, back in 2019, the priest had been charged with misdemeanor battery. But even after that, he continued to physically and psychologically abuse the family.
"I contacted the Diocese several times, described the family situation, and asked for protection. They told me that my body was my husband's property and I should endure it, but I shouldn't report the beatings, lest I go crazy." — Elena Manko said.
In 2021, after a domestic dispute, a woman promised her husband she would go to the police. Manko responded: "Before that, people in white cloaks will come and take you away." The phrase was recorded and presented in court. As a result, Manko initiated his wife's forced hospitalization in Regional Psychiatric Hospital No. 2.
Elena Manko is an environmental activist. She fought against water and air pollution in the village. Dreams, advocated for the creation of decent infrastructure and the elimination of illegal waste dumps. In 2019, Manko joined the EcoSystem working group and participated in the election campaign of independent candidate Vasily Nikitin.
In March, a court sentenced Sergei Manko to 280 hours of community service for publishing information about his wife's mental illness on social media. He was charged with violating the right to privacy.
