Kazakh Intelligence Service Head Resigns

The head of Kazakhstan’s intelligence service stepped down after officers from his agency were arrested for the murder of Altynbek Sarsenbaiuly.

Nartai Dutbayev submitted his resignation Tuesday, hours after the National Security Committee said that five of its employees were among the six arrested suspects.

President Nursultan Nazarbayev met with him on Wednesday and “accepted his offer of resignation,” the president’s office said.

“I believe that I have no moral right to head the National Security Committee in the given situation,” Dutbayev said after the meeting, according to the president’s office.

He also said that the arrested security service officers “betrayed their duty and the interests of the people” and must be punished.

The president, meanwhile, has vowed to visit “the toughest punishment” on those responsible for the murder. The entire situation has a mysterious and foul odor to it, so one would hope that “the toughest punishment” is not rushed.

And the president’s daughter has called for Arystan, the elite unit of which the arrested officers were members, to be shut down.

The opposition plans to hold demonstrations commemorating Sarsenbaiuly this weekend.

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Nathan Hamm – author of 2040 posts on Registan.net.

Nathan founded Registan.net 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 clients on Central Asian affairs, specializing in how socio-cultural factors shape risks and opportunities. Follow him on Twitter or drop him a line.