Kazakh journalist stabbed
April 21st, 2012 - 8:06 am ICT by IANSMoscow, April 21 (IANS/RIA Novosti) A journalist who criticised the Kazakh authorities over their bloody handling of riots in a mining town in December last year was found beaten and stabbed in the stomach and neck.
Five men allegedly assaulted Lukpan Akhmedyarov overnight Friday outside his house in Uralsk city in western Kazakhstan. They knocked him unconscious and repeatedly stabbed him in the back, said his employer, the Uralskaya Nedelya weekly.
Akhmedyarov was in serious, but stable condition after a three-hour operation Friday.
The attackers missed his heart and major arteries, though he has stab wounds to the stomach and neck, the report said.
A case has been opened on attempted murder charges, though no suspects were named.
In March, Akhmedyarov took part in a rally criticising Kazakhstan authorities for their handling of the riots in Zhanaozen, where a worker strike ended in clashes with police, leading to the death of around 70 people, according to an estimate.
Earlier in April, Uralsk prosecutors labelled Akhmedyarov, along with several other activists, a “destructive person” for staging political flash mobs and supporting labour strikes, the Newskaz.ru news agency said.
Akhmedyarov said the country’s secret service was pressuring his wife over his protest activity and said local prosecutors put him under surveillance, Newskaz.ru said.
–IANS/RIA Novosti
pm
- Three Russian journalists detained in Kazakhstan - Dec 19, 2011
- Kazakh cops jailed for attacking protesters - May 29, 2012
- Kazakhstan launches national superhero contest - May 17, 2012
- Kazakh restive town normal, UN experts invited - Dec 23, 2011
- Kazakhs find love on Sharia dating website - Mar 08, 2012
- 11 knifed to death in Kazakhstan - Aug 15, 2012
- Kazakhstan allows Russia to resume space launches - Jun 16, 2012
- Suicide bomber targets Kazakh state security building - May 17, 2011
- Russia, Kazakhstan extend Friendship Treaty for 10 years - Jun 08, 2012
- Parliamentary polls begin in Kazakhstan - Jan 15, 2012
- Kazakhs in Delhi can vote for Sunday's Kazakhstan polls - Jan 13, 2012
- Kazakhstan holds presidential polls - Apr 03, 2011
- Kazakhs want Russian names removed from map - May 05, 2012
- 200 kg heroin seized in Kazakhstan - Sep 06, 2012
- Kazakh border chief resigns over massacre - Jun 14, 2012
Tags: activists, attackers, clashes, five men, flash mobs, journalist, kazakh, kazakhstan, major arteries, mining town, murder charges, news agency, prosecutors, ria novosti, riots, ru news, secret service, stab wounds, stable condition, stomach