In short, you don't have to take the abuse - I'd look to change major professors.
Labs change focus all the time, even without describing it to the world. Why else would they have bumped your research?
Cultural context. While the research product (papers, mainly) is very international, how the sausage is made vary greatly by countries. While one of my topic of interest have decades of interest in Europe, it got zero attention here. Also I've noticed that most papers I read in English are basically ultra-specific narrow crap tested in questionable conditions, while stuff written in my native language try to address bigger issues and are more convincing (but also less data centred). Even the way of writing a PhD thesis is different: monograph in Europe, slapping three journal papers with an intro and conclusion here.
My solution will be to continue doing the minimal amount of work that I'm forced to do and write interesting papers with my external network of colleagues. It's of course forbidden by the lab rules by I found a loophole I can exploit.
Do you have other career options you are qualified for?
I have ton of options, the most obvious ones being developer or translator.
- Academia attracts sociopaths - Academia is slowly imploding, thus resources are becoming more scarce, thus folks are bitter.
Hang in there and gtfo of academia as fast as you can. My quality of life has improved immensely since I've left.
I have a "special" treatment: I have to point most of the work days (3) in the middle morning at the lab (I'm a night owl). I'm the only one subject to this while everyone else is free to come or not to the lab (some student are almost never there). At first it was every working day but I rebelled against. I also said no the have my desk moved besides my day-to-day supervisor, in the researchers' room.
I've been recently been told in front of everyone that my research didn't advanced for 6 months (public humiliation). I've also received nicely worded email from the laboratory head about my (supposedly) inability to graduate. One small project of mine had been totally removed from the list of what's done with our partners, with no explanations, despite its usefulness, my ability to complete it in time. I've not being invited at some research events were most of the lab participated, nor to go meet field partners.
So I have zero academics liberty, I'm forced to work on stuff the I have no interest in, the projects & papers I care are cancelled, I'm charged with menials tasks, then I'm basically told I'm lazy... At least every other lab members are kind, some very supportive. I just feel like the black sheep.