Kazakhstan arrests former security chief on suspicion of treason in the face of protests

Kazakhstan officials have detained the former head of the country’s National Security Committee on suspicion of treason, the government said on Saturday, as the former Soviet republic suffers from its worst popular uprising in 30 years.

Karim Massimov was fired from the powerful intelligence agency this week amid protests taking place across the country. The former security chief was detained along with several other officials, according to the committee, which did not name names or provide further details.

Reuters was unable to get in touch immediately with Massimov, who was twice prime minister and worked closely with former president Nursultan Nazarbayev, the country’s ruler for three decades, until he handed over the presidency to Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in 2019.

Dozens of people died and several public buildings were looted and set on fire across Kazakhstan last week as a result of a huge streak of violent protests in the Central Asian country, which is a major oil and uranium producer. It is the worst popular uprising since the country gained independence in the early 1990s with the collapse of the Soviet Union.

The demonstrations started as a response to a rise in fuel prices, but have turned into a broad movement against the Russian-backed Tokayev government and Nazarbayev, whose family is suspected of having maintained influence in Nur-Sultan, the built capital. that bears his name.

After several days of violence, security forces appear to have regained control of the streets of Kazakhstan’s main city, Almaty. President Tokayev said he ordered his troops to shoot to kill to quell the nationwide revolt.

The Interior Ministry said more than 4,400 people had been detained since the riots began.

A Russian-led military alliance was mobilized in Kazakhstan in a gesture of support for Tokayev. The movement comes at a time of high tension in relations between East and West, in which Russia and the United States are preparing for negotiations on the crisis in Ukraine next week.

Moscow has deployed large numbers of troops near its Ukrainian border, though it denies US accusations it is planning to invade the neighboring country.

In a meeting with high-level officials on Saturday, Tokayev said that the implementation of the Russian-led military bloc known as the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) in Nur-Sultan has allowed Kazakhstan’s security forces to be deployed to contain the protests in Almaty.

Nazarbayev’s spokesman said Saturday that the former president was in contact with Tokayev in Nur-Sultan, and that he had received calls from heads of nations friendly to Kazakhstan.