Nur Sultan -Kazakhstan’s former intelligence chief has been arrested on suspicion of treason, the state security agency said on Saturday, as the former Soviet republic is roiled by its worst unrest in 30 years.
The detention of Karim Massimov was announced by the National Security Committee which he headed until he was fired this week by president Kassym-Jomart Tokayev as violent protests swept across the Central Asian nation.
Mr Tokayev told Russian president Vladimir Putin in a “lengthy” phone call that the situation in the country was stabilising, the Kremlin said.
It said Mr Putin backed a proposal from Mr Tokayev on the call to convene a video conference of leaders from the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO), under whose umbrella Russia and four other former Soviet republics have sent troops into Kazakhstan to help restore order.
The interior ministry said that more than 4,400 people had been detained since the start of the unrest. Tokayev announced that a national day of mourning would take place on Monday to commemorate those killed in the unrest.
The deployment of the Russia-led CSTO military alliance in Kazakhstan at Tokayev’s invitation comes at a time of high tension in East-West relations as Russia and the United States gear up for talks next week on the Ukraine crisis.
Moscow has deployed large numbers of troops near its border with Ukraine though denies American suggestions that it is planning to invade the country, saying it wants guarantees that NATO will halt its eastward expansion.
Kazakhstan detains ex-security chief on suspicion of treason
