Kazakhstan’s Law Enforcement Agencies Update Data on Investigation into Tragic Events of Early January

Nur-Sultan, 24 January 2022 – Over the past two days the law enforcement agencies provided an update and recent statistics on the unrest that took place in Kazakhstan in January.

On Monday, the Ministry of Internal Affairs’ Spokesman Nurdilda Oraz reported that its hotline has received complaints about the actions of police officers in the following areas:

- 46 cases regarding the detention of citizens and transportation to relevant facilities, of which 18 cases are related to finding a detained member. Each person has been provided with information about the reasons for the detention of the family member, the violation, and the place of detention where they can contact them;

– 28 inspections of mobile phones. It was determined that all phones were confiscated as part of the pre-trial investigations under articles 255 (act of terrorism), 269 (attack on a building and structures), 272 (riots) of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Claimants have been informed that upon completion of an authorized inquiry, their possessions will be returned.

The above cases are under investigation. The Ministry of Internal Affairs is responding immediately to any allegations of the use of physical force against citizens. Each case is carefully examined using CCTV, including those installed in police buildings and public places. According to 27 reports, 7 pre-trial investigations have been launched under Article 146 of the Criminal Code of Kazakhstan (torture), official investigations are underway on 20 cases. The Department of internal security has stated that “the maximum time for reviewing received messages on the Ministry of Internal Affairs hotline does not exceed six hours.

In those cases where verification takes time, citizens are informed about the priority measures taken to register the claim, as well as the deadlines for informing about the results following the review of the received messages.

The main purpose of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Hotline is to maintain confidence of citizens in the work of the law enforcement by ensuring an immediate response to all incoming messages and complaints, including those that are related to the actions of police officers.

Meanwhile, on Saturday 22 January, the Prosecutor General's Office published updated statistics on the tragic events of January.

According to the information presented during the briefing at the Central Communications Service by Yeldos Kilymzhanov, Deputy Head of the 1st Service of the General Prosecutor's Office, as of January 22, the courts reviewed 9,213 administrative cases related to the January events. The court, taking into account mitigating circumstances and the repentance of the offenders, limited 4,561 persons to a warning. At the request of prosecutors, 1083 individuals were released from detention, 490 fines were replaced with a warning, 386 administrative cases were completely dropped due to the absence of any crime. Currently, 362 people are under administrative arrest and 1,245 people have been fined. Another 298 requests by prosecutors for the mitigation of administrative punishment are under consideration in the courts. Similar work is carried out on criminal offenses of small and medium gravity in the absence of aggravating circumstances.

According to the report, 1,822 criminal cases are under investigation, including 45 on acts of terrorism, 36 on riots, and 15 murder cases. Cases of robbery, stealing, theft of weapons, the use of violence against law enforcement officers and others are also being investigated. In these cases, 970 suspects have been detained, of which 782 were taken into custody with the sanction of the court, 29 were placed under home arrest. The largest number of those arrested (464 people) are related to cases of terrorism and riots. 226 people were detained for theft, 60 for illegal possession of weapons, 39 for theft of weapons, 25 for disorderly conduct, 21 for robbery. Detainees and those arrested in other criminal cases are also under investigation. It is important to note that the courts denied the request for arrest for 29 detainees.

Prosecutors are checking temporary detention facilities (TDFs) and pre-trial detention centers on a daily basis. 96 people were released from TDFs due to the lack of grounds for detention.

Among those held in the Almaty pre-trial detention center, prosecutors identified 73 people with a physical injury. The level of punishment has been changed for three of them, leading to their release. 29 persons with gunshot wounds were hospitalized in city hospitals. 41 detainees with specific bodily injuries are receiving medical treatment directly in the detention center. In order to independently verify possible cases of ill-treatment and failure to provide medical assistance, the Human Rights Ombudsperson and human rights organizations are provided with access to detainees and people under arrest. In addition, together with the State Bar Association, the issue of providing timely qualified legal assistance, as well as access of defense lawyers to detention institutions, has been resolved. To date, the prosecutor's office has received 91 complaints about torture and violations of the rights of citizens during the investigation by police officers. The violations indicated in 19 applications have not been confirmed. Examination of 56 violations is still ongoing.

The Almaty prosecutor's office has released from custody 24 residents of the city since January 12, who were detained illegally. Cases are also being investigated on the facts of death, torture, and abuse of power against detainees. In total, 16 such criminal cases have been initiated across the country. Units have been established in all regions of the country to promptly respond to alleged violations of the rights of citizens by law enforcement and special agencies. To this end, the departmental website "prokuror.gov.kz" has published the phone numbers of on duty prosecutors of the general and regional prosecutor's offices.

Furthermore, Kilymzhanov informed that materials sent by citizens to the STOPTERRORISM.KZ website have provided significant assistance in establishing the circumstances of the events. Since January 12, more than 1,500 materials have been received, which are being studied by the investigators. Thanks to the materials, it was possible to identify persons involved in the riots near the Mayor’s Office in Almaty.

To ensure objective and comprehensive inquiry of the recent unrest, the Prosecutor General's Office is continuing its work on investigating the causes and details of the terrorist attacks committed in the country. Law enforcement agencies are taking all necessary measures to identify and bring to justice the perpetrators, as well as fully restore public safety.