“I need a hug”: foreign national detained in Almaty for harassment

Tengrinews.kz – A man has been detained in Almaty on suspicion of harassing a minor. Earlier, the girl’s mother shared details of the incident on social media and called for action against the suspect.

“I need a hug”

Earlier, the woman published an emotional post on Threads, saying that the previous evening a foreign national approached her 17-year-old daughter with a disturbing request.

“He started calling out to her, came out from densely planted bushes, said ‘hello’ three times in Russian and showed her his phone screen. Using an Arabic-to-Russian translator, it read: ‘My girlfriend died five days ago, I urgently need a hug.’ He then gestured for her to go into the bushes. She got scared, said ‘no’ and ran away,” the girl’s mother wrote.

According to her, the daughter told her about the incident as soon as she got home.

In the comments under the post, other users also recalled similar cases.

What police say

The Almaty Police Department confirmed that the suspect has been detained.

“A report from an Almaty resident regarding possible harassment of her minor daughter by an unknown man has been registered with the Almaly District Police Department. A check is currently underway to establish all circumstances of the incident. Police officers have identified and detained the man in question,” the department’s press service said.

Police added that once the review is complete, the necessary procedural decisions will be made and the man’s actions will be assessed in accordance with the law.