Partners Should Press for Investigation into Abusive Response to Protests, Unrest
Kazakh security forces used excessive force on at least four occasions, including lethal force such as shooting at protesters and rioters, during recent demonstrations and subsequent civil unrest, Human Rights Watch said today. An analysis of over 80 verified videos recorded between January 4 and 6, 2022, in Almaty, Kazakhstan’s largest city, highlights the urgent need for an effective, independent, and impartial investigation.
The worst of the four incidents analyzed in the videos led to 10 apparent killings, with 19 people injured. The full toll is likely higher, both in this case and in others in which security forces used excessive force. On January 15 Kazakhstan’s prosecutor’s office stated that the bodies of 225 people, including 19 members of the security forces, had been delivered to morgues across the country since January 4.
“There is ample evidence showing that security forces opened fire without any apparent justification and killed at least 10 people,” said Jonathan Pedneault, conflict and crisis researcher at Human Rights Watch. “The death toll from the violent crackdown is likely much greater and requires a prompt and effective investigation.”
Protests began on January 2 in Zhanaozen, a western oil town, over a sharp increase in gas prices. By January 4, thousands of peaceful protesters in other parts of the country had joined in, demanding economic and political reforms. The government clamped down on the protests over the next six days, including restrictions to internet access. Authorities in Kazakhstan have long restricted fundamental rights and rejected calls for genuine reforms.
Human Rights Watch verified and analyzed over 80 videos, the majority of which were recorded by participants or witnesses to the events in Almaty between January 4 and 6 and shared on Telegram, Twitter, Facebook, or YouTube. Nine of them were recorded by Agence France-Presse journalists and one was posted online by the Kazakh government. A local journalist sent another video directly to Human Rights Watch.
By matching landmarks in the videos with satellite imagery, maps, and photographs, Human Rights Watch identified the locations where the videos were recorded. To establish a chronology, the footage was compared with media reports and social media posts, the time of sunset and sunrise, and clocks shown in recordings. For the events on January 6, Human Rights Watch also spoke with three witnesses, a journalist and two protesters.
In the first incident, 17 videos recorded on late January 4 and early January 5 show peaceful protesters walking to and gathering in Almaty’s Republic Square, close to city hall and the president’s palace. Small groups within the crowd appear to be looting from stores on their way to the square. Around 12:15 a.m., shortly after the protesters arrived, security forces forcibly dispersed them with tear gas, stun grenades, and rubber projectiles. Afterwards, a crowd began to attack security forces and set fire to police vehicles.
In the second incident, a series of 23 videos recorded between 3 and 5:30 p.m. on January 5, shows that security forces protecting the president’s residence repeatedly fired with assault rifles at several hundred people outside the building, including protesters and others holding sticks, shields, and spades. The people did not appear to be posing an imminent threat to security forces, though one person might have been holding a handgun. From this footage, Human Rights Watch counted at least 10 people who appear to have been killed and 19 injured, most of them apparently by bullets.
That night, in a televised speech, President Kasym-Jomart Tokaev referred to the protesters and rioters as “terrorist gangs […] who have undergone training abroad.” He did not elaborate or offer evidence for his claims at the time, or since.
In the third incident, a video showed soldiers shooting live ammunition in Republic Square around 10 a.m. on January 6. A protester who was present at the time said that she and about 150 others were peaceful and shouted “Don’t shoot” prior to security forces firing into the air. She said one man was injured, which local media also reported.
In the fourth incident, between 6 and 6:30 p.m. on January 6, peaceful protesters again gathered on Republic Square holding a large white banner that read: “We are peaceful protesters! We are not the terrorists!”
A protester present at the time told Human Rights Watch that he saw security forces fire warning shots prior to directing live fire at the protesters and then ran for his life. The protester who was on the square earlier and the journalist said they had left the square minutes before but heard the shooting. Witnesses who spoke to the journalist said they saw one protester hit in the head and another wounded in the upper body.
The witness accounts are consistent with footage in six videos that were recorded at the time by people who were fleeing or hiding from the shooting, though none of them captured video of the soldiers opening fire. In one, over 100 gunfire rounds can be heard. One video showed one man, apparently injured, being carried by protesters to a car.
During a televised speech on January 7, President Tokaev said he had ordered security forces “to shoot to kill without warning.” The same day, Human Rights Watch urged the government to rescind the order because it could lead to unlawful killings.
The government has subsequently defended the conduct of security forces. On January 16 the Almaty police chief, Kanat Taimerdenov, told the media that “in all cases, police officers worked according to the established procedures to ensure the protection of public order during peaceful assemblies and were not armed.” On January 11 Almaty police said that, in addition to the 19 killed, 176 of its officers had been injured in the unrest.
In addition to obligations to protect rights to life and bodily integrity, under international human rights law, Kazakhstan has an obligation to respect the right to peaceful expression and assembly, including by ensuring that its security forces are trained and equipped to police demonstrations in rights-respecting ways.
The United Nations Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials state that security forces should “apply non-violent means before resorting to the use of force and firearms,” and use the minimum necessary force at all times. Intentional, lethal use of firearms is only permitted when strictly unavoidable to protect life.
In light of the gravity of the alleged violations, Kazakhstan’s international partners, including the UN, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), of which Kazakhstan is a member, and the European Union, should press the government of Kazakhstan to conduct an effective, independent and impartial investigation into the security forces’ response to the January events, with a view to ensuring full accountability.
The government should also conduct an effective investigation to identify those responsible for attacking and killing security force members, causing criminal damage to public property, or other unlawful acts. They should be held to account in fair proceedings, Human Rights Watch said.
The government should seek the support of international expertise and refrain from hindering inquiries and monitoring activities by national and international non-governmental groups, regional and international organizations, and the media.
Should the government fail to conduct an effective investigation that meets international standards, OSCE members should invoke the Moscow Mechanism, an OSCE investigation procedure, and UN Human Rights Council members should address the issues at their next session.
“Dozens of grieving families across Kazakhstan are waiting for answers from their government,” Pedneault said. “It should be a priority for Kazakhstan to restore some measure of confidence in the rule of law and ensure that all those responsible for this tragic loss of life are held to account.”
For additional details, please see below.
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The following chronology is based on a review of over 80 verified videos that were recorded in Almaty between January 4 and 6, the majority of which were shared on Telegram, Twitter, Facebook, or YouTube, the remainder filmed by journalists. Together with statements provided by three witnesses and media reports, they show that security forces forcibly dispersed peaceful protesters on the night of January 4 and early morning of January 5, and used lethal force on January 5 and 6, resulting in serious injuries and deaths.
window.tgpQueue.add('tgpli-64a7dd5b64b34')Wider map of central Almaty, Kazakhstan. © 2022 Human Rights Watch
Late January 4 and Early January 5 – Incident One
Human Rights Watch analyzed 17 videos recorded https://www.opendemocracy.net in Almaty on late January 4 and early January 5 that show the Kazakh security forces’ unlawful dispersal of peaceful protests, including using unnecessary and disproportionate force, while a shutdown of mobile internet access was being imposed.
Peaceful Demonstrations
A video from AFP, made up of multiple clips recorded around 12 p.m. on January 4, shows a small group of peaceful protesters led by Zhanbolat Mamay, a former journalist now leading Kazakhstan’s unregistered Democratic Party, rallying in support of the protest movement on Almaty’s Republic Square. Security forces are then seen arriving and appear to order them to disperse.
Around 6:30 p.m., users and media began to report restrictions to mobile internet access, which represents almost 75 percent of online traffic in Kazakhstan. Between 7:15 and 7:45 p.m., as media reports describe and a video posted to Telegram show, scores of peaceful protesters gathered by Alatau Theater on the outskirts of Almaty, heading toward the center, 10 kilometers away. At around 10 p.m., a group of thousands of protesters is seen in a video posted to Facebook walking toward central Almaty, singing the national anthem.
Security Forces on Republic Square
Human Rights Watch verified three videos shared on YouTube and Telegram showing hundreds of law enforcement officers equipped with riot gear, including shields, helmets, and batons, deploying by midnight on the night of January 4 on Republic Square. Before protesters arrived, the forces are seen forming a cordon blocking the entrance to city hall and positioning themselves at the crossroads of Satpaev and Nazarbayev Streets, on the eastern end of the square. Seven transport trucks and at least 33 police vans support them.
Between 12:05 and 12:19 a.m. on January 5, peaceful protesters can be seen filling Republic Square, entering from the west at the crossroads of Satpaev and Zheltoksan Streets, and gathering around the Independence monument.
Forced Dispersal of Peaceful Protesters; Unnecessary Use of Force
Fifteen minutes after the peaceful demonstrators arrived, about 20 distant detonations are heard in a video recorded from a building overlooking Republic Square from the north. Several hundred additional protesters are then seen arriving from Zheltoksan Street, rushing toward the police cordon in front of city hall and pushing their way through the line. The protesters eventually flanked law enforcement officials, who then retreated east to their position at the corner of Satpaev and Nazarbayev Streets. Within minutes, a series of loud detonations are heard, and a thick cloud of teargas smoke can be seen wafting westward from the law enforcement position, slowly engulfing the square and protesters.
Between approximately 12:25 and 12:51 a.m., law enforcement officers at the corner of Satpaev and Nazarbayev Streets deployed scores of stun grenades and teargas canisters to disperse the crowd. A video posted to Telegram shows that some protesters retaliated by throwing stones and other objects at law enforcement officers, but most protesters remained peaceful.
Tokaev Speech, Rioting, and Retreat by Security Forces
Just as security forces were forcefully dispersing protesters from Republic Square, President Tokaev gave a televised speech, broadcast shortly before 12:37 a.m., in which he called for dialogue but emphasized that the government would not fall and that “calls to attack the offices of civil and military departments are absolutely illegal.”
By 1:05 a.m., law enforcement officials had dispersed all protesters from Republic Square, but violence erupted in other areas of town, with groups of rioters aggressively targeting police vehicles and setting them on fire.
Around 2 a.m., a video recorded near Republic Square and posted on YouTube showed security forces aggressively confronting a group of protesters who appeared largely peaceful, except for some people throwing stones. The video showed security forces firing stun grenades and a policeman hitting one detainee in the back.
Two videos of an incident that took place before 2:53 a.m. about 700 meters northwest of Independence Monument, near the corner Seifullin and Abay Streets, show hundreds of rioters chasing away security forces aboard three troop-carrying trucks and an 8‑wheeled BTR armored vehicle with a mounted machine gun.
January 5 and Early January 6
Human Rights Watch analyzed over 50 videos recorded between the late afternoon of January 5 and early morning January 6 that show government forces adopting different security postures at various points, beginning with a show of force, followed by a deployment of unarmed and lightly equipped troops on foot in the streets of Almaty, only hours after people had clashed with security forces.
At 3 p.m., a mixed group of protesters and rioters tried to storm government buildings, including the Almaty city hall and the nearby president’s residence.
Law enforcement officers defending city hall appeared to offer limited resistance, with some security force personnel captured and severely beaten. But cadets and police officers deployed at the residence rapidly resorted to sustained and excessive lethal force. In footage from the event, Human Rights Watch identified at least 19 people who were injured and 10 who appear to have been killed.
Early Morning Deployment of Forces by Republic Square
In an apparent government demonstration of force captured on video in the morning of January 5, six BPM-97 armored personnel carriers are seen at the entrance of Republic Square, at the corner of Satpaev and Nazarbayev Streets.
Photographs and video footage published by Orda.kz, a local news outlet, before 11 a.m. show that military forces wearing bulletproof vests but not visibly bearing weapons had cordoned off city hall. A similar deployment was reported near Almaty’s international airport at the same time.
By midday, Orda.kz posted another video showing groups of protesters walking on Raimbek and Tole Bi Streets toward the city center.
Events on Shevchenko Street
Around 2:40 p.m., four videos recorded from different locations on downtown Almaty’s Shevchenko Street between Seifullin and Pushkin Streets show a compact group of fewer than 300 law enforcement officers, in riot gear and equipped with batons and shield, being pursued eastward on foot by a few dozen violent rioters, who