One of detainees in Kazakhstan admits participation in protests for money
By Trend
One of the detainees in Kazakhstan admitted that he was participating in the protests for money, Khabar 24 TV channel reports, Trend reports with reference to Lenta.ru.
“This man arrived in Almaty from Kyrgyzstan on January 2,” the message said. “Some individuals contacted him and offered to join the protests. As a reward, they promised 90,000 tenge, more than $200.”
"As I am unemployed in Kyrgyzstan, I agreed,” the detainee said.
The detainee said that they bought an airline ticket for him and on January 2 he arrived in Almaty. He was taken to an apartment in which there were about ten citizens of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
Kazakhstan's government announced late Jan. 4 that it was restoring some price caps on liquefied petroleum gas, after the rare protests reached Almaty following a sharp rise in the price of the fuel at the start of the year.
Many Kazakhs have converted their cars to run on LPG, which is far cheaper than gasoline as a vehicle fuel in Kazakhstan because of price caps. But the government argued that the low price was unsustainable and lifted the caps on Jan. 1.
After the price of the fuel spiked, big demonstrations erupted on Jan. 2 in certain parts of the country. Public protests are illegal in the country unless their organizers file a notice in advance.
Following the development of the situation, the government declared a state of emergency all over the country. Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said the government initiated the anti-terorrist operations to deal with the ongoing riots.
Also, the divisions of the united peacekeeping contingent of CSTO (Collective Security Treaty Organization) arrived in Kazakhstan to assist in restoring order and help protect strategic objects of the country.