Islamist radicals identified among rioters in Kazakhstan

Mass riots in Kazakhstan, January 2022. Photo: inbusiness.kz

Islamist radicals have been identified among the rioters in Kazakhstan. The documentary film "Tragic January. As It Was" was presented by the Kazakh state TV channel Khabar. 

The documentary depicts the events beginning from January 1, 2022, when dozens of people began to gather outside the Zhanaozen akimat (local government – Ed.). They demanded a reduction in the price of liquefied gas. On January 2, the number of protesters exceeded 600 people. Further on, the situation became far from a peaceful protest, and in a number of cases, the protest grew out of control.

Members of the radical Islamist organisation Yakyn Inkar took an active part in the unrest. Kazakhstan's Prosecutor General's Office banned its activities back in 2018.

"Among those detained are a number of supporters of the radical cell Yakyn Inkar. Weapons, grenades, cartridges, religious brochures and literature were seized from them," the film testifies of Kazakhstan's January riots.

According to the Sputnik Kazakhstan website, Yakyn Inkar is a wing of the extremist organisation Tablighi Jamaat, which is banned in Kazakhstan.

"The purpose of this organisation (Tablighi Jamaat - Ed.) is to create a 'caliphate' in a particular country, including on the territory of Kazakhstan, which implies a violent change of the constitutional system, a violation of sovereignty. The adherents of this organisation categorically deny the right to the existence of other religions," reports the resource.

Earlier, the UOJ wrote that the rioters stormed the Almaty police department shouting "Allahu akbar".

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