Several former officials from Kazakhstan's western Atyrau region have been handed prison terms on corruption charges. A court in Atyrau on November 15 sentenced the region's former deputy governor, Baqytgul Khamenova, and the ex-chief of the regional culture directorate, Aqylbek Rysqaliev, to seven years in prison each. The court ruled that the start of Khamenova's prison term will be delayed by three years because she has underage children. A local businessman, Omirtai Adamov, was sentenced to four years in prison in the high-profile case stemming from a bribe-taking scandal last year. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Kazakh Service, click here.
