The former head of the Kazakh secret services was sentenced to 18 years in prison for the January protests

24 Apr. (EUROPE PRESS) –

An Astana court has sentenced the former chairman of Kazakhstan’s National Security Committee Karim Massimov to 18 years in prison for high treason for his role in the January 2022 riots that killed more than 200 people.

The Astana Interdistrict Court has also decreed against Massinov, who has been under arrest since that January, the confiscation of his assets, as well as the prohibition from holding public office, the Tengrinews portal has reported.

The deputies of the former head of the Kazakh secret services, Anuar Sadikulov, Daulet Yergozhin and Marat Osipov, have also been sentenced to between three and 16 years in prison for the same charges in connection with the riots.

The attorney general, Berik Assilov, explained in January that all those involved were accused of strategically abandoning military positions during protests in provinces such as Almaty, for which reason “appropriate measures” were not taken to stop the violence.

Last March, a Kazakhstan military court sentenced former Defense Minister Murat Bektanov to twelve years in prison for his role in the riots after Kazakh President Kasim Jomart Tokayev accused the Armed Forces of demonstrating “criminal inaction”. ” in January.

The country was plunged into a crisis at the beginning of January 2022, when thousands of people took to the streets to protest against the Government for the increase in the price of liquefied gas, essential for car travel. The Kazakh Prosecutor’s Office estimated 238 deaths in the context of the demonstrations, including 19 members of the security forces.