Former head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs was detained in Kazakhstan on charges of abuse of power

In Kazakhstan, the former Minister of Internal Affairs of the country, Erlan Turgumbayev, was detained as part of the case of mass unrest in January 2022. About it reported press service of the Prosecutor General’s Office.

Turgumbayev is suspected of abuse of power and official powers, leading to grave consequences.

The department did not disclose details of the case, noting that it “contains information constituting state secrets, [в связи с чем] other data of the pre-trial investigation are not subject to disclosure.”

Turgumbayev headed the Ministry of Internal Affairs since February 2019 and was relieved of his post shortly after mass protests in the country – on February 25, 2022.

• Mass protests broke out in Kazakhstan in early 2022, with clashes with police in Almaty and other cities leading to the deaths of at least 238 people.
• The protests began due to residents’ dissatisfaction with rising gas prices, but later participants began to express dissatisfaction with the presence in power of Nursultan Nazarbayev, who resigned as chairman of the ruling Nur Otan (Light of the Fatherland) party after the unrest.
• Mass unrest led to political reforms and early presidential elections, which were won by Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. According to official data, he dialed 81.31% of the vote in the November 20 elections. Critics have noted since the announcement of the elections that the results were already predeterminedand claimed that the other five little-known candidates were brought in to create the appearance of a fight.