Sanat Nurbekov is a correspondent for RFE/RL's Kazakh Service.
Small rallies took place in Kazakhstan on January 5 to mark the second anniversary of anti-government protests, some of which spiraled into riots and ended with many demonstrators being shot by security forces. Relatives of victims brought portraits of the dead and recited prayers.
A Kazakh court has delivered a suspended sentence to Nazym Tabyldieva for her online posts slamming President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev and three regional prosecutors. Tabyldieva's supporters waiting outside the court were relieved because the prosecutor had demanded imprisonment.
Noted Kazakh dissident Ermek Narymbaev (aka Narymbai) has been released from prison two days after he was supposed to be set free.
A court in the Kazakh city of Taraz convicted five dead men on February 7 for their alleged roles in nationwide anti-government protests in January 2022, during which at least 238 people died. Four living men were also found guilty. Relatives of the deceased spoke to RFE/RL.
Several activists of a Kazakh opposition movement have been arrested and police were stationed outside the door of another ahead of a snap presidential election scheduled for November 20.
Asel Qurmanbaeva was the beneficiary of a $30 million payment from an offshore company, according to evidence presented in the Pandora Papers. For years, there have been reports she was in a secret long-term relationship with former Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev.
