The Kazakh Prosecutor-General’s Office said investigators have detained former Interior Minister Erlan Turghymbaev on a charge of abuse of office and power, RFE/RL’s Kazakh Service reported.
In a statement on April 30, the office said Turghymbaev’s detention was linked to “ongoing investigations into the events that took place in January 2022,” a reference to nationwide demonstrations that were sparked by protests against an abrupt fuel price hike in the country’s western town of Zhanaozen.
The unrest that quickly spread across the country turned into unprecedented anti-government protests that saw more than 200 people killed.
Much of the protesters’ anger was directed at former President Nursultan Nazarbayev, who ruled Kazakhstan from 1989 until March 2019, when he handed over power to Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. Despite moving into the background, Nazarbayev was widely believed to have remained in control.
The protests were violently dispersed by police and military personnel, including troops from the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) that Tokayev invited into the country.
Following the unrest which claimed at least 238 lives, including 19 police officers, the chief of the Committee for National Security (KNB) and one of Nazarbayev’s closest allies, Karim Masimov, and three of his deputies were arrested.
Masimov was later sentenced to 18 years in prison, while his deputies, Anuar Sadyqulov and Daulet Erghozhin, were sentenced to 16 years and 15 years, respectively. A court in Astana found all three men guilty of high treason, attempting to seize power by force, and abuse of office and power.
In February of this year, another former deputy and a nephew of Nazarbayev, Samat Abish, was convicted on a charge of abuse of power and handed a suspended sentence of eight years.
