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Semen GluzmanHuman rights activist, former dissident and political prisoner, renowned psychiatrist
Date of Birth: 10.09.1946
Country:  Ukraine |
Content:
- Biography of Semen Gluzman
- Early Life and Education
- Arrest and Imprisonment
- Career and Activism
- Awards and Recognition
Biography of Semen Gluzman
Semen Gluzman is a prominent human rights defender, former dissident, and political prisoner. He is also a renowned psychiatrist and the Executive Director of the Ukrainian-American Human Rights Bureau. Gluzman is the Director of the International Medical Rehabilitation Center for Victims of War and Totalitarian Regimes (MRC). He is recognized for his extensive interviews, scientific publications on human rights issues, ethics and law in psychiatry, and social psychiatry. Gluzman serves as the Co-Chair of the Babi Yar Committee.
Early Life and Education
Semen Gluzman was born on September 10, 1946, in Kyiv, Ukrainian SSR. In 1970, he graduated from the Kyiv Medical Institute as a psychiatrist. Immediately after graduation, Gluzman worked at the Zhytomyr Psychiatric Hospital as a psychiatrist.
Arrest and Imprisonment
In 1972, Gluzman was arrested by the KGB for "anti-Soviet agitation and propaganda". He was accused of spreading samizdat and tamizdat materials, providing false information about human rights violations in the USSR, and exposing the abuse of psychiatry for political purposes. The main reason for his arrest was his involvement in the case of General P.G. Grigorenko, where Gluzman co-authored a publication stating that Grigorenko was mentally healthy, contrary to the official viewpoint. Gluzman was sentenced to seven years in strict regime labor camps and three years of exile. Despite his imprisonment, he continued his scientific and journalistic activities, co-authoring the "Manual on Psychiatry for Dissidents" with Vladimir Bukovsky. During this time, Gluzman was elected as a member of the International PEN Club. His poetry and prose were published in Russian, Ukrainian, English, and French languages.
Career and Activism
After his release in 1982, Gluzman worked as a locksmith at the Kyiv Promarmatura Plant. In 1983, he became a pediatrician and the head of a department at a children's clinic. From 1989 to 1990, Gluzman served as a member of the Expert Group at the Health Protection Committee of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. He was an expert on psychiatry and narcology for the Constitutional Oversight Committee of the USSR. Since 1991, Gluzman has been the Executive Secretary of the Association of Psychiatrists of Ukraine.
In 1993, Gluzman became the Executive Director of the Ukrainian-American Human Rights Bureau. He also led the project "Model System of Information and Planning for Ukraine" from 1993 to 1995. Gluzman has been the Director of the International Medical Rehabilitation Center for Victims of War and Totalitarian Regimes since 1999.
Throughout his career, Gluzman has been involved in various international organizations and initiatives. He served as an expert on human rights for the United Nations in 1998. Gluzman is a member of several psychiatric associations, including the American Psychiatric Association, the Royal College of Psychiatrists in the UK, the Canadian Psychiatric Association, and the German Society of Psychiatrists and Neurologists. He is also a patron of the International Foundation "Geneva Initiative in Psychiatry" and a member of the World Council for the Rehabilitation of Torture Victims.
Awards and Recognition
Semen Gluzman has received numerous awards for his contributions to human rights and psychiatry. In 1998, he was named an honorary member of the American Psychiatric Association. He was awarded the European Union-United States Democracy and Civil Society Development Prize in 1998 and was recognized as the "Human Rights Defender of the Year" in the national program "Person of the Year" in 1999. Gluzman received the American Psychiatric Association's "Human Rights Award" in 2001 for his outstanding contributions to the organization of human rights protection and mental health worldwide. In 2008, he was honored with the Geneva Award for Human Rights in Psychiatry for his exceptional courage, dedication to humanistic ideals, and ethical principles in reforming the psychiatric service in Ukraine. The award was presented at the 14th World Psychiatric Association Congress in Prague.
