Kazakhstan launches probe into use of police force during deadly protests

[News_Editor]

Kazakhstan launches probe into use of police force during deadly protests

2011-12-30 13:24:48 GMT+7 (ICT)

ASTANA (BNO NEWS) -- Prosecutors in Kazakhstan have launched an investigation into the use of weapons by police during a protest earlier this month, leaving more than a dozen people killed and many others injured.

The clashes erupted on December 16 as the Central Asian nation marked the 20th anniversary of independence from the Soviet Union. Police moved in to clear the main square in the town of Zhanaozen for independence celebrations but were charged by the oil workers, who have been demanding higher wages for months.

As a result of the incident, at least sixteen people were killed and more than 80 others were injured. But protesters and witnesses claimed police opened fire on unarmed protesters, and one eyewitness told the BBC how an unarmed man died in her arms after being shot.

A spokeswoman for the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), Virginie Coulloudon, told CNN on Thursday that the government of Kazakhstan has informed OSCE that its general prosecutor's office launched an investigation into police actions. The internal security department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs has also launched an in-house investigation.

"The conclusions of this investigation, according to Kazakh sources, should be available within a week," Coulloudon told CNN via email.

The Kazakh general prosecutor's office said in a statement on its website on Thursday that 20 people had been detained over alleged involvement in the unrest, with 18 of the arrests ordered by a court. A criminal case was opened on Tuesday into the alleged excessive use of force by police who opened fire. However, it noted that some of the deaths were not related to the actions of law enforcement.

Video posted previously to the video-sharing website YouTube showed protesters fleeing a large square amid gunfire as police advanced with riot shields. An injured person can also be seen being beaten with a baton by someone who appears to be a police officer.

The workers' trade union puts the number of dead at 50 to 70 and says as many as 500 were injured, according to European lawmakers. International rights groups condemned the violence, while the U.S. State Department and a group of 48 European lawmakers also expressed concern.

The oil workers at the Ozenmunaigas oil field had been protesting for months to demand higher salaries, and strike organizers claimed the workers were owed danger money for the tough conditions they work in. Hundreds of workers were fired for demonstrating in the oil-rich but remote western Mangistau region.

The unrest was unusual for Kazakhstan as President Nursultan Nazarbayev, who has been in power since April 1990, has kept a tight rein on public protests. Nazarbayev was last re-elected in April with 95 percent of the votes, but election observers claim the elections were rigged with ballot box-stuffing, voter intimidation and a lack of transparency.

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