Earlier this month, Kazakhstan’s top intelligence officer was arrested for suspected treason. The National Security Commission gave no further details as far as January 8 regarding the alleged detention of a convicted terrorist. Masimov served twice as prime minister, despite not being elected and is regarded as an associate of former president Nursultan Nazarbaev. Among those cited was a hiked pension fund for the elderly, who died on Tuesday following his arrest in the country. Masimovich held this role until his appointment
The former head of Kazakhstan’s domestic intelligence agency has been detained on suspicion of high treason, two days after he was relieved of the position amid violent protests.
The National Security Committee provided no further details about the January 8 detention of Karim Masimov, while noting that other unidentified security officials were also detained.
The move came as Kazakhstan’s Interior Ministry announced that more than 4,000 people had been detained in ongoing operations to quell the demonstrations, which led to a request for intervention by a Russia-led regional military alliance.
President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev earlier gave permission for security forces to “shoot to kill” demonstrators, whom he described as “bandits” and “terrorists,” labels protesters have dismissed.
Smatterings of gunfire were heard overnight into the morning of January 8 in the commercial capital Almaty, the focal point of days of rioting and harsh security response.
Dozens of people — including 18 security officers – have been killed in clashes, officials said.
Protesters earlier in the week torched and ransacked public buildings in several cities in the worst violence in the Central Asian state’s 30 years of independence.
In a defiant national address on January 7, President Toqaev said order had largely been restored across the country as he gave a green light for the police and army to use deadly force.
“The anti-terrorist operation continues in our country. The police, the national guard, and the army are carrying out large-scale and well-coordinated efforts to restore law and order,” Toqaev said, according to the president’s office.
In the face of mounting unrest and apparent uncertainty over the loyalty of law enforcement and military forces, Toqaev declared a state of emergency and on January 5 asked the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) to help provide security.
