Kazakhstan arrests ex-interior minister in connection with unrest that left 238 dead

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Authorities in Kazakhstan have arrested a former interior minister in connection with deadly unrest that gripped the country in 2022, Kazakh news media reported Tuesday. The Prosecutor General’s Office announced on Monday that the former minister was detained on charges of “abuse of power and official authority resulting in grave consequences” in the harsh crackdown of riots by the police. The unrest that started in the city of Zhanaozen in Jan. 2022 spread and morphed into broad criticisms of corruption, economic inequality and a continuing grip on power by its long-serving former leader who had maintained substantial power as head of the national security council after stepping down from the presidency in 2019.  Officials said 238 people died in the unrest.