NUR-SULTAN — Human rights activists in Kazakhstan have slammed a authorities record of women and men killed throughout and after anti-government protests in January, calling it “inadequate.”
The unregistered Qaharman (Hero) human rights group stated in a assertion on August 17 that the record, launched by the federal government a day earlier, confirmed solely final names and initials of the victims.
The group demanded that detailed info on every sufferer be made public, together with first and patronymic names, ages, precise occasions of loss of life, causes and precise locations of loss of life, and the circumstances when the deaths occurred.
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The group additionally known as on Kazakh residents who misplaced folks within the unrest however didn’t see these victims on the record to contact it instantly.
Bakhytzhan Toreghozhina, a number one member of the Almaty-based human rights group Ar, Rukh, Khaq (Dignity, Spirit, Fact), stated the record supplied by the Prosecutor-Normal’s Workplace was incomplete.
“For instance, throughout the unrest in Almaty, a 22-year-old citizen of Israel, Levon Kogeashvili, who resided in Kazakhstan for a number of years, was killed. However his title shouldn’t be within the record. Why? We’ve our personal record with all vital particulars, similar to names, ages, and cities the place they had been killed. We are going to make our record public within the coming days,” Toreghozhina stated.
On August 16, Kazakh authorities raised the loss of life toll from the unrest to 238, including six extra individuals who died in police custody to the unique tally.
1000’s had been detained throughout and after the protests, which erupted when a peaceable demonstration in a western district over a fuel-price hike led to nationwide anti-government protests that had been violently dispersed by legislation enforcement and the army.
President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev blamed the unrest on “20,000 terrorists” from overseas, a declare for which authorities supplied no proof. Russia briefly despatched troops to assist defend key authorities services.
In June, prosecutors stated the general loss of life toll stood at 232. Deputy Prosecutor-Normal Aset Shyndaliev additionally stated on the time that six folks had been tortured to loss of life after being arrested for collaborating within the January protests.
He additionally stated that an unspecified variety of safety officers had been arrested in reference to the alleged torture.
Eldos Qilymzhanov, a high official with the Prosecutor-Normal’s Workplace, stated on August 16 that six people who had been detained throughout the riots had died on account of “unlawful strategies of interrogation by legislation enforcement buildings,” including that 15 legislation enforcement officers had been beneath investigation.
The Prosecutor-Normal’s Workplace stated earlier that 25 folks had been formally thought-about victims of torture and had been subjected to scorching irons utilized by investigators throughout interrogations.
Human rights teams have stated the variety of killed demonstrators was a lot larger than any of the assorted figures supplied by officers. The teams have supplied proof that peaceable demonstrators and individuals who had nothing to do with the protests had been amongst these killed by legislation enforcement and army personnel.
The unrest led to the elimination of former President Nursultan Nazarbaev and his family from Kazakh politics. Some family have been stripped of their posts, misplaced influential positions at corporations, and even been arrested on corruption fees.
Kazakh authorities have rejected calls by Kazakh and international human rights teams for a global probe.
