Kazakhstan holding hundreds over terrorism, disorder
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Following riots that ravaged the country for days in early January, the Kazakhstani government announced holding hundreds in custody over charges of terrorism and disorder.
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A police car on fire as riot police prepare to stop protesters in the center of Almaty, Kazakhstan, January 5, 2022 (AP)
Kazakhstan is holding more than 460 people over terrorism and disorder in the wake of the mass unrest that killed hundreds and wounded thousands of civilians and police officers.
The government said the hundreds of detainees were being charged with terrorism and disorder after protests over surging oil prices escalated into riots and clashes with the state security apparatuses.
The government saw that the events were caused by bandits and international terror cells, eventually pleading for help from the Collective Security Treaty Organization.
Eldos Kilymzhanov, a representative of the state prosecutor, said Saturday 464 suspects were facing charges related to terrorism and mass disorder.
The authorities initially had 970 suspects in custody, on charges of theft, disorderly behavior, and possession of arms.
Kilymzhanov said 73 suspects had sustained bodily injuries, and among them, "29 people with gunshot wounds were hospitalized to city hospitals on our instructions."
The European Parliament had issued a resolution flagging alleged "violations of fundamental rights" in the government's handling of the national security threat. The Kazakhstani foreign ministry pushed back against the resolution on Friday.
The resolution, the foreign ministry said, was "not only biased but also based on prejudiced opinions and assumptions."
At the peak of the unrest, the bodies of two slain police officers were discovered beheaded, indicating the "terrorist intention" behind the militant armed groups in Almaty.
According to the reports, protestors destroyed the offices of five stations in Almaty and stormed the media cluster that contains several broadcasting stations.
Despite the violence, CSTO Secretary-General Stanislav Zas said the peacekeeping forces did not have any confrontations with local citizens, and they were acting within their legal framework.
Less than a week after the protests began, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that the mission of the Russian-led peacekeeping troops in Kazakhstan would soon come to an end.
Three days after President Putin's announcement, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced that the first units of the Russian landing forces within the CSTO forces left Alma-Ata airport to their point of permanent deployment.
Additionally, over 2,000 CSTO troops completed a withdrawal from Kazakhstan on Wednesday.
