January riots in Kazakhstan: 286 suspects in custody

NUR-SULTAN. KAZINFORM - 286 suspects are in custody following the January riots in Kazakhstan. All of them actively participated in riots, torching buildings, stealing armed weapons, and attacks on government facilities, Kazinform correspondent reports.

Speaking at a briefing, Nurlybek Sabitov, the deputy chief of the Special Prosecutors Service of the Prosecutor General's Office of Kazakhstan said that as a result of the January events, up to five thousand pre-trial investigations have been registered.

According to information, 474 criminal proceedings in which 717 persons have been convicted have been sent to court.

He went on to say that 92 accused have received real prison sentences following the riots.

«93 accused have been given real sentences for serious crimes related to theft and illegal possession of weapons and those who did not compensate for the damage or had non-extinguished previous convictions,» said Sabitov.

Mukhtar Kozhayev, the deputy chief of the investigation department of the Kazakh Interior Ministry, added that the police have initiated a total of 4,642 criminal cases. Of these, 2.5 thousand on charges of theft, 708 on theft and possession of weapons, 418 on hooliganism, 199 on destruction of property, and 25 on looting and robberies.