It is not so much shocking that security service officers are linked to the murder of Altynbek Sarsenbaiuly as it is to actually hear it.
The KNB said the five were members of its elite Arystan combat division.
…
The KNB in a statement called the arrested men “werewolves in epaulettes”, a term for corrupt security officials, according to the Reuters news agency.A sixth man, who was also arrested for organising the operation, was a former law enforcement officer, opposition leader Zharmakhan Tuyakbai told the Associated Press.
The five men accused of committing the murder were paid $25,000, according to Interior Minister Baurzhan Mukhamedzhanov.
Thanks to Brian for the tip.
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Nathan is the Founding Editor and Publisher of Registan.net, which he launched in 2003. He was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Uzbekistan 2000-2001 and received his MA in Central Asian Studies from the University of Washington in 2007. Since 2007, he has worked full-time as an analyst, consulting with private and government clients on Central Asian affairs, specializing in how socio-cultural and political factors shape risks and opportunities and how organizations can adjust their strategic and operational plans to account for these variables. Nathan is currently seeking research, analysis, and consulting opportunities. He can be contacted via Twitter or email.
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{ 7 comments }
Unfortunately, there’s no mention of motive for the killings, nor is there any mention if these same group of people are responsible for the “suicide” of Zamanbek Nurkadilov back in November.
I kind of wonder whether or not these guys are just there to take the fall so the whole affair can be swept under the rug.
I think you needn’t wonder. Take a look at Kazinform’s story and you’ll see that The Big N is supervising the case personally, and ascribes the motives to someone who “dislikes the order and stability of Kazakhstan”.
http://www.inform.kz/showarticle.php?lang=eng&id=139972
Narcogen,
Shame on you. I saw the big ‘N’ on tv last night – his daughter’s channel, nice touch – and he promised that no one was above the law and that he would see to it that the truth will be outed. I think that it is woefully wrong to blame the government for such killings and suicides; why would a democratically elected power stoop to such lows? Come on now.
The 5 (the sixth was the organizer) intelligence agents linked to the murder are all members of the elite anti-terrorism unit; and the official explanation of the murder is that they thought they were kidnapping/killing a businessman.
Dubious…
Also, the Sarsenbauily’s body was found in Koktobe on the road to Turgen: that’s part of the cluster of villages the Peace Corps’s been using for pre-service training.
It seems to me that if Nazarbayev wasn’t involved, either tacitly or otherwise, he will be most upset about this event that makes him and his country look so shady. On the other hand, if he was involved in any way, or is “pleased” that it happened, we probably won’t see anything more come out of it, or will see a very obvious scapegoat take the fall.
The truth will be in the news in the coming weeks, either implicitly or explicitly, I would reckon.
Didn’t Nazarbayev recently invite the FBI to oversee the investigation? Was the FBI involved with obtaining the confessions? There’s no mention of that in the article.
The fact that he invited the FBI seems to reduce his chances of involvment; unless these confessions, obtained before the FBI arrive (I assume), are intended to upstage and replace their investigation.