Former Minister of Internal Affairs of Kazakhstan, Erlan Turgumbaev, has been detained, as reported on social media. Today, on April 30, 2024, the General Prosecutor's Office of the country made a statement regarding this development.
The statement released indicates that the General Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Kazakhstan continues to investigate criminal cases related to the events of January 2022.
"On April 29 of this year, for exceeding authority and official powers resulting in serious consequences (part 4 of article 362 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan), former Minister of Internal Affairs Erlan Turgumbaev was detained in accordance with article 128 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Considering that there is information in the criminal case that constitutes state secrets, other pre-trial investigation data are not subject to disclosure."
The General Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Kazakhstan emphasized the "inadmissibility of disclosing pre-trial investigation data constituting state secrets, regulated by the requirements of article 47 and article 201 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan."
On March 19, 2024, social media reported that a criminal case had been opened against former Minister of Internal Affairs of Kazakhstan, Erlan Turgumbaev. It was noted that Turgumbaev is suspected of abusing official powers. The acting head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan stated at the time: "The Ministry of Internal Affairs is not conducting the investigation, so I cannot comment."
On March 20, the General Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Kazakhstan stated that former Minister of Internal Affairs, Erlan Turgumbaev, was interrogated as part of investigations related to "failure to ensure law and order and security during the January events, as well as the use of torture against citizens."
