QYZYLORDA, Kazakhstan -- A court in the southern Kazakh city of Qyzylorda has sentenced a participant in the nationwide anti-government protests in January to 17 years in prison after finding him guilty of killing a soldier by running him over with a car during the dispersal of the protests.
Judge Duman Aliev sentenced 34-year-old Qazybek Qudaibergenov on November 29. Qudaibergenov had pleaded not guilty.
His wife, Inkarim Sultanova, said there were two autopsy reports on the soldier, who was among 26 people killed during the protests in Qyzylorda, adding that the two documents contradicted each other, which makes the case against her husband dubious.
Qudaibergenov was among thousands of people arrested during and after the protests, which left 238 people, including 19 law enforcement officers, dead across the country. The protests were violently dispersed by police and in some parts of the country turned into deadly mass disorders.
Many in Kazakhstan, including relatives of those killed during the unrest, have demanded an explanation from President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev on his decision to invite troops from the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization to disperse the protests, as well as his public "shoot to kill without warning" order.
The unrest occurred after a peaceful demonstration in the western region of Manghystau on January 2 over a fuel-price hike tapped into deep-seated resentment of the country's leadership.
Toqaev said at the time that the protests were caused by "20,000 terrorists" from abroad, a claim for which the authorities have provided no evidence.
Human rights groups have provided evidence that peaceful demonstrators and people who had nothing to do with the protests were among those killed by police and the military.
Deputy Prosecutor-General Aset Shyndaliev admitted in June that six people had been tortured to death after being arrested for taking part in the protests. He said a number of security officers had been arrested in connection with the alleged torture.
In early November, Toqaev signed a decree granting amnesty to hundreds of people jailed in connection with the violence.
Rights activists say the mass amnesty was initiated to allow law enforcement officers who opened fire at unarmed demonstrators to escape responsibility for their actions.
