TALGHAR, Kazakhstan -- A local official has been detained in Kazakhstan's southern district of Talghar on suspicion of involvement in the shooting of a local civil rights activist.
The Talghar district government's spokesman Zhankeldi Omiraliev told RFE/RL on August 29 that Nurghali Appazov, the governor of the subdistrict of Panfilov, was detained in connection with an attack on Galina Arzamasova.
A duty officer at the Talghar police department confirmed to RFE/RL that Appazov had been detained, adding that the case is being investigated as possible hooliganism.
Arzamasova was shot on August 26 from a distance as she was approaching the local governor's office, with whom she was scheduled to discuss government plans to sell land belonging to local parks.
A small projectile, possibly shot from an air rifle from a vehicle, hit Arzamasova in the pelvis. She is now being treated for the wound after first refusing to be taken to hospital.
A day after the incident, local authorities said a suspected shooter, a 22-year-old man whose identity was not disclosed, was detained and charged with hooliganism.
Arzamasova told RFE/RL that she believes the attack was linked to her civil rights activities. She demanded it be investigated as attempted murder.
The 63-year-old 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.
