At a Mazhilis meeting, Kazakhstan’s Prosecutor General Berik Assylov and Minister of Internal Affairs Marat Akhmetzhanov presented a timeline of the January events, the number of deaths and convictions, the causes and key organizers of the riots.
The January events were the result of an attempt to overthrow the government, the country’s Prosecutor General Berik Assylov stated during his speech. According to him, covert preparations were underway throughout the entire 2021. The events involved organized criminal groups, religious extremists previously convicted, as well as supporters of the movement banned in the country. As a result, a total of 71 buildings were demolished and burned in eight cities across the country. All the details of the incident have been restored, and the identities of all the dead have been established, Assylov stated.
“A total of 5,300 criminal cases were initiated on crimes committed in January. Most of them were investigated by the Interior Ministry, including murders, thefts, robberies, hooliganism, and weapons stealing. The National Security Committee investigated cases of high treason, attempted coup, and large-scale bribery,” the Prosecutor General said.
Kazakh Minister of Internal Affairs Marat Akhmetzhanov reported on the timeline of the 2022 January events. He noted that the tragedy could have been much worse if law enforcement officers had not carried out a set of measures envisaged by Law.
“The protesters used rebar, Molotov cocktails, pavers, and stones in the attacks on the police. They attempted to seize the mayor’s office of the city, but were driven out. However, they managed to damage police vehicles and set them on fire, seize municipal vehicles, Kamaz trucks, and other equipment. 33 police officers and members of the National Guard were severely injured in clashes. By the decree of the Head of State, the state of emergency was imposed in Almaty city and the Mangystau region at 01:30 a.m.,” Akhmetzhanov added.
A total of 1,221 cases regarding the January events have been considered by the court, as a result 1,205 citizens were convicted. 1,095 persons were granted amnesty. Apart from that, all the 350 commercial facilities that were damaged during the events have been restored so far. Entrepreneurs were paid compensation in the amount of 16.7 billion tenge.
