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Kazakh Rights Activist Trying To Stop Parkland Sale Shot, Wounded


TALGHAR, Kazakhstan -- A civil rights activist in southern Kazakhstan says she was shot as she headed to the local governor's office to discuss government plans to sell local parkland.

Galina Arzamasova told RFE/RL's Kazakh Service that she was shot on August 26 from a distance as she was approaching the local governor's office.

Arzamasova said a small projectile -- possibly shot from an air rifle from a vehicle -- hit her in the pelvis.

An ambulance arrived at the site and provided her with medical assistance, though she said she refused hospitalization.

"The police also arrived, but they did not create any protocol. They just asked me what happened and then left ," Arzamasova said, adding that she plans to officially request a police investigation into the shooting.

Arzamasova also said she plans to obtain all video records from security cameras that might have recorded the incident.

Tolqyn Sametova, a spokeswoman for the Talghar city department for interior policies, told RFE/RL that investigations have been launched into the attack and that all video recordings are being studied.

Arzamasova says the attack could be politically motivated and organized to prevent her from meeting with the local governor.

The activist -- well-known for her campaign demanding more transparency in local politics -- has said she was attacked twice by unknown assailants in 2017. She also says her house was once burglarized and the target of an attempted arson attack.

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