Security officers in Astana on May 16 detained Kazakh activist Aidar Syzdyqov on unspecified charges. Syzdyqov's wife, Aigul Toqpaeva, shared a video showing Syzdyqov being taken away by Spetsnaz officers. Toqpaeva said she went to a police station hoping to find her husband there, but had to rush home after her neighbors said police were searching her apartment. Later, officers leaving her residential building tried to take her telephone to prevent her from filming them. They told her they were from the anti-drugs directorate. Syzdyqov is an activist of the unregistered opposition Algha, Qazaqstan (Forward, Kazakhstan) party. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Kazakh Service, click here.
Kazakh Rights Activist Aidar Syzdyqov Detained
Aidar Syzdyqov was filmed being forced on a bus by Spetsnaz officers in Astana on May 16.