Kazakhstan Detained Karim Massimov Former National Security Head for Disloyalty

Karim Massimov, the former head of Kazakhstan’s National Security Council, has been detained on Saturday on accusations of treasonous acts, according to the National Security Committee.

Massimov, who was dismissed this week as demonstrations erupted all over the Central Asian country, was held along with several other officials, according to a statement from the National Security Council. It didn’t name them or give any other information about them.

The National Security Council said in a press release. Its former chairman Karim Masimov a close associate of Kazakhstan’s early president Nursultan Nazarbayev was detained on Thursday after an inquiry into high treason charges was initiated.

The announcement comes after scores of people were murdered in rallies sparked by a rise in petrol prices. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev stated on Friday that the constitutional order had been “mostly restored,” with peacekeepers from Russia and six other ex-Soviet nations now stationed in Kazakhstan.

On Saturday, President Vladimir Putin and his Kazakh counterpart Kassym-Jomart Tokayev talked about establishing “order” in Kazakhstan after days of violence and rioting, as many high-ranking officials were imprisoned on suspicion of betrayal.

Tokayev informed Putin that his country’s situation was “making progress on the route to stability” and voiced his “gratitude” for the formation of a Russia-led military force to Kazakhstan to attempt to manage street unrest, according to a Kremlin statement on Saturday. You can also read more about Sidney Poitier.

Massimov is widely regarded as a close associate of former President Nursultan Nazarbayev. He served as Prime Minister twice as well as Head of the Presidential Administration under Nazarbayev.

Before handing over the president to Tokayev in 2019, Nazarbayev, 81, was the longest-serving ruler of an ex-Soviet state. His family is often considered to have kept clout in Nur-Sultan, the city-state that bears his name.