Five Zhanaozen policemen under house arrest

Five police officers brought to criminal responsibility for excess of power during Zhanaozen clashes are under house arrest, the source in police told Interfax-Kazakhstan. “Criminal cases were initiated against five police officers by the General Prosecutor’s Office. Investigation is in process. The measure of restraint was changed to house arrest,” the source said. According to his information, the policemen were apprehended in the end of January and their restraint measures were changed to house arrest. Clashes in Zhanaozen happened on December 16-17, 2011, and claimed 15 lives. State of emergency was announced in Zhanaozen and was lifted on January 31. January 28 Kazakhstan General Prosecutor’s Office announced that police officers “acted in accordance with law but in several cases use of firearms and special devices by the police was of disproportional character”. In this relation head of the Anti-Extremist Division of the DIA of Mangystau Oblast Bekzhan Bagdabaev, first deputy head of Zhanaozen town's Office of Internal Affairs Yerlan Bakytkaliuly, police inspector of DIA of Mangystau province Rinat Zholdybaev and head of the Temporary Detention Facility of the Office of the Internal Affairs of Zhanaozen Zhenisbek Temirov were brought to criminal liability. Mangistau oblast Council of Veterans of Interior Department asked Kazakhstan authorities to change the restraint measures for their colleagues from pretrial detention in jail to a different kind of restraint measures that do not involve isolation from the society.