Suspect in organizing January riots arrested

Suspect in organizing January riots arrested

A person suspected of organizing disorder in January through a popular social network was arrested in Kazakhstan. This was reported by Deputy Head of the First Service of the Prosecutor General’s Office Yeldos Kilymzhanov at a briefing in the CCS. A resident of Zhambyl region, while in Almaty, created a telegram channel on January 4 this year. Several thousand people subscribed to it in a few hours, receiving the detailed guideline to make barricades and a Molotov cocktail, as well as resist the security forces and seize buildings. Later, on January 5 and 6, this channel streamed information about the movement of the rioters and the spotting of their attacks on state facilities in the region.

“A driver of the Gazelle truck, citizen ‘S’ and his accomplice citizen ‘K’ were identified in the same region. They moved in the mentioned car, gave out prepared fittings, stolen police shields and bulletproof vests. Also, they used their car to block roads, hindering the movement of law enforcement officers. An analysis of criminal cases showed that tragic events in other regions erupted according to the same scenario and had a general coordination. This circumstance demonstrated they had one plan,” the deputy head said.

Yeldos Kilymzhanov added that 11 criminal cases were initiated in connection with the January events. 627 suspects are currently in custody. 402 cases were sent to court, 4,849 criminal cases were handled by the investigating authorities, 323 previously suspected persons were released from custody.

 

Translation by Saniya Sakenova

Editing by Saule Mukhamejanova