Havana Syndrome in India: The central government has told Karnataka High Court that it will be investigating the mysterious ‘Havana Syndrome.’
According to a report by Indian Express, a single-judge bench of Justice Krishna Dixit disposed of the petition on July 27 after the Centre’s counsel agreed to examine the case. It directed the Centre to do so within three months in response to a Bengaluru resident’s recent petition.
Reportedly, the petitioner had approached the court requesting a writ of mandamus for an enquiry on Havana Syndrome in India and the prevention of high-frequency microwave transmission in India.
According to media reports, this comes after reports emerged that in 2021, when a US intelligence officer was travelling to India with CIA director William Burns, he experienced symptoms linked to the bizarre syndrome.
What is Havana Syndrome?
In 2016 the mysterious illness surfaced for the first time. Several CIA employees posted in Cuba’s Havana experienced unusual symptoms such as migraines, nausea, memory lapses, dizziness, hearing sounds without any external noise, and vertigo. Reportedly, some of these officials claimed that the symptoms lasted for months.
Till now, the exact cause of the syndrome remains unknown. According to experts, this mystery illness has possible links to high-frequency microwave emissions. It is noteworthy that this link has been highlighted by the petitioner in his plea before the Karnataka High Court.
Reportedly, since 2016, the cases have spread to US diplomats, agents, etc. travelling to different parts of the world such as Australia, Colombia, Austria, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Serbia, Uzbekistan, Poland, and Taiwan, among others.
What are the symptoms of Havana Syndrome?
- Vertigo
- Balance issues
- Memory loss
- Headaches
- Hearing sounds and noises
- Disorientation
- Head pressure
- vision changes
- vestibular disturbances
Instances of Havana Syndrome
According to media reports, several US intelligence and embassy officials are said to have experienced mental health symptoms attributed to Havana syndrome in various countries.
In March 2018, MRI scams and other tests taken by a neurologist in Pittsburgh on some Canadian diplomats showed signs of brain damage that their US counterparts claimed to have faced.
Moreover, similar reports about US intelligence officials experiencing unexplained symptoms in Moscow, Tbilisi, Poland, Taiwan and Australia were found.
In February 2021, NSA issued a statement that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) conducted a two-year “epidemiologic investigation” of the mysterious medical incidents suffered by U.S. personnel in Cuba but could not determine the nature of the injuries nor the cause.
“The evaluations conducted thus far have not identified a mechanism of injury, process of exposure, effective treatment, or mitigating factor for the unexplained cluster of symptoms experienced by those stationed in Havana, Cuba,” concluded the CDC study.
According to the NSA statement, on December 29, 2017, the State Department’s Bureau of Medical Services formally requested a CDC inquiry into the “unexplained phenomenon” of brain-related symptoms suffered by CIA and State Department personnel and family members in Havana.
According to the report, CDC researchers reviewed the case files of 95 individuals who had received medical evaluations at the State Department, National Institutes of Health, and medical centers at the University of Miami and University of Pennsylvania.
In 2021, the US passed a new law titled HAVANA (Helping American Victims Afflicted by Neurological Attacks Act) to authorise the provision of payment to intelligence personnel and diplomats who incurred injuries, and for other purposes.
In January 2022, CIA issued an interim assessment concluding that the syndrome is not the result of “a sustained global campaign by a hostile power”. Foreign involvement was ruled out in 976 cases of the 1,000 reviewed.
Havana Syndrome in India
According to media reports, the first case in India is of a CIA officer who experienced the signs while on a visit to India with CIA Director William Burns.
