In Kazakhstan, the ex-head of the Defense Ministry received 12 years for inaction during the riots

"Bektanov was convicted by the verdict of the Specialized Interdistrict Military Court for Criminal Cases dated February 24, under part 3 of Article 451 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan, he was sentenced to imprisonment for a period of 12 years with serving his sentence in an institution of the maximum security penal system", - the judicial authority said in response to the portal's request (quote from TASS).

The head of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev approved the new government on January 11 last year, and Bektanov retained his post, but on January 19 he was replaced by Ruslan Zhaksylykov. The president explained the reason for this decision by the extremely insecure and lack of initiative of the army leadership during the January riots of 2022. In his opinion, the country's armed forces did not fulfill their tasks, and the minister did not show commanding qualities.

On February 20, 2022, Bektanov was detained by the staff of the Prosecutor General's Office of the Republic, and on February 22, 2022, the Specialized Interdistrict Investigative Court of the capital of Kazakhstan sent the ex-head of the Defense Ministry under arrest.

As a result of the riots, 238 people were killed, more than 4.5 thousand people were injured. To restore public order in the country, the Kazakh authorities turned to the CSTO for help, and the president announced an attempted coup in the republic.