Kazakh official announces January 2022 protests as ‘coup attempt’

Kazakhstan’s Prosecutor General Berik Assylov has announced during the delivery of a report to the Kazakh parliament that the protests which erupted in the country in January 2022 turned out to be a “coup attempt.”

"We can say that the operation to dismiss the country's top leadership in conditions of controlled chaos was carefully planned. In fact, it was a coup attempt," Assylov told the lower house of the parliament, the Majilis, on Thursday.

The chronology of the protests was made and the identities of their organizers were determined under an investigation, Assylov noted, saying the investigation determined those responsible to be among senior government officials, as well as crime rings.

“The tragedy of January has deeply affected our country and has been an important lesson for all of us. Speaking here is an opportunity to tell a wide audience what's going on," Assylov further said.

He also said that on the orders of former internal security chief Karim Massimov, buildings of the National Security Committee were abandoned by the employees in some regions.

“As a result, no measures were taken to stop the protests in time, and the cities of Almaty and Taldykorgan remained in the grip of fully armed bandits for two days. 3,000 gun ammunition fell into their hands. The whereabouts of about 2,000 guns is still unknown,” he said, adding that Massimov is on trial as one of the main organizers of the protests.

More information will be given when the trials are concluded and Former Defense Minister Murat Bektanov’s trial in military court continues, he also said.

On Jan. 2 last year, massive protests broke out in Kazakhstan over a rise in fuel prices in the Zhanaozen city of the Mangystau region, which later turned into clashes with police, with the most violent incidents taking place in the country's largest city Almaty.

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev turned to a Russia-led military bloc for help, and peacekeepers from Russia, Belarus, Armenia, and Tajikistan soon arrived in the country and backed the Kazakh law enforcement in restoring order.