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Kazakhstan · Crime & Law by city

Kazakhstan · Almaty

Deaths and accountability after January 2022

Almaty was a major centre of violence during the January 2022 protests.

Editorial illustration of unrest in Almaty.
Editorial illustration

Timeline

  1. January 2022: Unrest reaches Almaty and the health ministry reports 103 deaths in the city.
  2. 15 January 2022: The prosecutor general gives a separate national count of 225 deaths.
  3. 2023: Kazakhstan reports convictions of some officers and releases under an amnesty to the UN.

What the records document

UN experts recorded an initial health ministry figure of 103 deaths in Almaty. On 15 January the prosecutor general reported 225 deaths nationally, including 19 members of the security forces. The figures describe different reporting areas and snapshots.

Case outcomes

Kazakhstan later told the UN Committee against Torture that some officers had been convicted and more than 1,000 people arrested in connection with the unrest had been released under an amnesty. These outcomes were reported nationally. The authorities said the amnesty excluded torture and terrorism. UN Special Procedures joint communication

UN Committee against Torture · meeting record