Dozens Detained In Almaty, Kazakhstan

Kazakh police detained about two dozen people in Almaty on May 7, in an apparent effort to preempt a protest. Several were detained in the city's central square, while others were apprehended outside their homes. Kazakhs have been protesting for two weeks in several cities over government plans to start large-scale privatization of farmland. But activists gathering in Almaty on May 7 said that they did not plan to protest, but only to place flowers at a monument in honor of Defenders of the Fatherland Day, a national holiday. All of those detained were released within a few hours. (RFE/RL's Kazakh Service)