ALMATY, Kazakhstan -- More than 30 men and women arrested during clashes between police and would-be settlers on the outskirts of Almaty were sentenced today to between seven and 10 days of jail, RFE/RL's Kazakh Service reports.
Almaty Oblast Interior Ministry spokesman Kobeykhan Nurakhmet told journalists today that several more detainees were fined. All were found guilty of the illegal seizure of land. He said more sentences are expected.
On May 1, local residents began dividing up vacant land in the Duman-1 and Duman-2 districts into building plots with the aim of building private homes.
The Almaty city authorities warned them that their actions were illegal, and deployed Interior Ministry troops when they refused to stop. About 100 people were arrested.
Read more in Kazakh here
Almaty Oblast Interior Ministry spokesman Kobeykhan Nurakhmet told journalists today that several more detainees were fined. All were found guilty of the illegal seizure of land. He said more sentences are expected.
On May 1, local residents began dividing up vacant land in the Duman-1 and Duman-2 districts into building plots with the aim of building private homes.
The Almaty city authorities warned them that their actions were illegal, and deployed Interior Ministry troops when they refused to stop. About 100 people were arrested.
Read more in Kazakh here