Court announces sentences on rioters of Kazakh Zhanaozen

Azerbaijan, Baku, June 4 / Trend E. Kosolapova / The court sentenced the participants of massacres in Kazakh Zhanaozen to 3 to 7 years in prison, Novosti-Kazakhstan reported. Some of the defendants were given suspended prison sentences, some were granted amnesty. The judge was unable to read the sentence to the end because the defendants' relatives dissatisfied with the verdict started throwing various things at him. The judge left the courtroom. More than 100 victims were involved in the process - the owners of burned motor vehicles, restaurants, shops and offices, a number of entrepreneurs of Zhanaozen. The case was filed against 37 persons including 2 minors. The defendants were charged with organizing of mass riots by using violence, arsons, destruction of property, violence against authoritative representative, outrage of the national flag, emblem and anthem of the Republic of Kazakhstan, robberies and thefts. Mass riots hit the Kazakh oil city of Zhanaozen in Mangystau region on Dec.16. According to the Kazakh General Attorney Office, 14 people were killed as a result and 64 injured by fire. Buildings and cars were burned and the property of individuals and institutions destroyed. A state of emergency was imposed in Zhanaozen from Dec.17 to Jan 30. The riots were preceded by many months striking launched by oil companies' employees over dissatisfaction with their wages. Earlier the court sentenced the police officers of Kazakh Zhanaozen to five to seven years in prison with confiscation of the property for abuse of power during the riots. Moreover, the trial on organizers of mass riots in Zhanaozen is going to complete in near future. Do you have any feedback? Contact our journalist at agency@trend.az