NUR-SULTAN -- Kazakhstan's former defense minister, Murat Bektanov, who was detained last week over deadly unrest in January, has been placed in pretrial detention.
A court in Nur-Sultan ruled on February 22 that Bektanov, who was arrested on February 19, must stay in pretrial detention for at least two months.
Bektanov was charged with inaction during the unrest that shook the energy-rich Central Asian state in early January.
President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev dismissed Bektanov on January 19, the same day the Kazakh parliament joined Toqaev's push to deprive influential former President Nursultan Nazarbaev of his lifetime posts atop the Kazakh Security Council and the Assembly of Kazakhstan's People.
Protests in the remote town of Zhanaozen early last month over a sudden fuel-price hike quickly spread across Kazakhstan and led to violent clashes in the country's largest city, Almaty, and elsewhere.
After announcing his resignation in March 2019 and leaving Toqaev in his stead, Nazarbaev retained large political influence in the tightly controlled nation with almost limitless powers.
Much of the public anger in the unrest appeared to be directed at Nazarbaev.
The crisis prompted Toqaev to seek help from troops from the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organization to quell the unrest.
Toqaev's moves since then appear aimed at ousting Nazarbaev's relatives and allies.
Before his dismissal last month, Bektanov had headed the Defense Ministry since August.
