Norwegian independent media outlet Document reported that on 19 July, Håland was forcibly removed from his home and detained for nine days under the Mental Health Protection Act. He was released when on 28 July, the Control Commission for Psychiatric Healthcare ruled that there were no grounds for using forceful measures against Håland.
Lawyer Barbro Paulsen who represented Håland said if someone had not experienced mental health issues before they could easily have mental health issues after such an experience. Such a dramatic removal and detention could trigger a shock trauma, she said.
Paulsen has had several cases where the use of force in psychiatry has been central but has never before seen such a harsh case as Håland’s. It is the first time that statements made on Facebook have been used as the reason for such force.
The criteria for forced admission to a psychiatric unit are very strict. None of the criteria were met in Håland’s case, Paulsen emphasised.
Further reading: Forced because of Facebook posts? Steigan, 22 July 2023
The parties present at the Commission’s meeting on 28 July were Håland, Paulsen and chief physician Erzebet Szasz, who is responsible for the Stavanger University Hospital’s decision to use force to detain patients. She argued that it was appropriate to force Håland into psychiatric care and said that Håland has a serious mental disorder but that it is now under control.
According to authorities, Håland has been posting “conspiracy theories” on Facebook. Szasz claimed that Håland only commented on these “conspiracy theories” when he was mentally unstable. She told the Commission:
When he is healthy and stable, he does not post and is not interested in these topics [climate scepticism, covid vaccine scepticism among other things]. It is not normal behaviour that he is now displaying considering how he is when he is healthy. He is still secretive and suspicious. Norway locked man in psychiatric ward for questioning mRNA shots, Peter Sweden, 23 August 2023
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