The other day, Colonel Ruslan Iskakov, former head of the fifth department of the local KNB, spoke with open letterwhere he revealed unknown details about the mass protests that occurred in the republic two years ago.
Iskakov is now in prison. Investigators consider his role in the riots to be perhaps key. But the materials on the case, contrary to President Tokayev’s promises to conduct an “international investigation,” are classified, and the courts are closed. And such a “little thing”, one of the few opportunities to hear the versions of those who are on the other side of the bars. And they, of course, disagree greatly with the official accusations.
Iskakov, for example, told what role the notorious “authority” Arman Dzhumageldiev, aka “Wild Arman,” actually played in the protests. Novaya Gazeta, which published the letter, calls him “a cornerstone figure in the investigation.” He is also currently behind bars on charges of organizing mass riots.
Dzhumageldiev, according to Iskakov, appeared in the midst of 20 thousand aggressive Protestants absolutely not by chance. The reason for this was a personal appeal from the deputy of the National Security Committee, Nazarbayev’s nephew Samat Abish. There was simply no other option to save the police officers surrounded by a raging crowd. Iskakov writes about this with complete confidence, since he himself personally conveyed this appeal from Samat Abish to Dzhumageldiev.
Wild Armand’s charisma worked. Despite the fact that at some point the protesters attacked the “authority” and beat him, Dzhumageldiev, according to Isakov, still managed to remove some of the protesters from the square. This really helped to avoid even greater casualties from both protesters and police. However, all this did not save Dzhumageldiev from being charged with a number of crimes committed during the riots and being sent to a pre-trial detention center.
The Novaya Gazeta website in Russia is accessible only using a VPN; in the rest of the world access to it is free.
Two years ago, in the first ten days of January 2022, Kazakhstan found itself in the center of world attention due to a terrorist attack that almost resulted in the fall of power and the loss of the integrity of the country. The events of those days, known as the Almaty tragedy or Kantar…
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