Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called out Kazakh authorities' for their "failure" to effectively investigate "the serious loss of life and other grave human rights violations” that occurred during and after protests in January that resulted in the deaths of more than 200 people.
HRW said in a statement on December 20 that Astana has been reluctant to identify the law enforcement officers responsible and hold them to account, leaving "a damaging legacy" for 2022.
It added that the investigation into the developments had been "one-sided," leading to over 1,000 convictions of protesters and others, while only one military officer had been prosecuted for shooting to death an unarmed man.
"Nearly a year after the January events, families of those who were killed and the hundreds of people wounded or tortured are still waiting for justice," HRW's senior Central Asia researcher Mihra Rittmann said.
"Kazakhstan’s partners should urgently renew their calls for an independent and effective investigation into the January events," Rittmann added.
The anti-government protests were sparked by a fuel price hike, but quickly grew into a show of anger over corruption and nepotism that has plagued the country for years.
President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev has publicly blamed what he said were "extremists" trained abroad for attacking Kazakhstan's largest city, Almaty, during the unrest. He has not produced any evidence to back up the claim.
Kazakh officials said earlier this year that six people were tortured to death after being arrested for taking part in the protests, while 238 people, including 19 law enforcement officers, died during or after law enforcement and the armed forces violently broke up the protests.
The Kazakh Prosecutor-General's Office has said 25 people were officially considered victims of torture as investigators used hot irons during their interrogations.
Human rights groups insist that the number of people killed during the unrest is higher, presenting proof that many peaceful demonstrators and people who had nothing to do with the protests were killed by police and military personnel following Toqaev's issuance of a "shoot-to-kill-without-warning" order.
"Kazakh authorities are responsible for bringing to justice those responsible for the deaths and serious injuries of protesters, and crimes of torture in connection with the January events, but a year on, it’s clear that has not been their focus," Rittmann said.
"Kazakhstan should not try to whitewash the actions of law enforcement but ensure that justice is served."