“Horrible things were happening before my eyes”

Police brutality that’s not “Occupy”-related: It’s been ignored by most Western media, but a police crackdown on a labor strike in Kazakhstan earlier this month resulted in 16 deaths (officially reported; protesters say the number is much higher), one truly disturbing video of protesters getting shot and beaten as they run away, and now, charges of a torture basement beneath a Kazakh police station. Here’s what’s being reported.

DETAINED FOR NO REASON Asem Kenzhebaeva says that on the day of the protests, police detained her, for no reason, while she was searching the streets of Zhanaozen for her father, who had gone missing earlier that day. “That day, police were arresting anyone they saw in the street,” Kenzhebaeva said.
TORTURE BASEMENTPolice brought her to a dark, dirty basement under the station, filled with other detainees. According to Kenzhebaeva, women were being stripped naked, dragged by the hair, and beaten by “people in masks.” Kenzhabaeva was beaten and strangled–but ultimately released by the police.
WHAT TORTURE? When she returned to the scene with government officials later that week, the basement had been completely cleaned up, and looked “white like a hospital.” Her father, meanwhile, turned up two days later, having been severely beaten by police. He died of his wounds the day before Christmas (Photo: AFP). source

Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

» An electoral red flag: International elections monitors are crying foul over what took place in Kazakhstan yesterday, as incumbent President Nursultan Nazarbayev (who’s been in power since the 1980s) soared to this startling vote tally. It’s being reported (albeit from an unnamed source) that students were threatened with expulsion if they didn’t head to the polls. We’re reminded of a point about show elections made by Christopher Hitchens; why do these leaders always desire such a staggering percentage of the vote? It all but screams a corrupt, undemocratic, strong-armed process- the leaders in question could lay much more claim to credibility if they tried to manipulate themselves to, say, a 55-45 win instead.

Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

Kurmanbek Bakiyev, looking dapper in that suit-no tie getup of his, left for Kazakhstan yesterday. His resignation calms a potential crisis. source

Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

» Why Opera, anyway?: Well, Opera has this Turbo Browsing mode that goes through a proxy. The feature is intended to make Web browsing faster, but has the side effect of getting around the country’s censorship law, which passed last year. Too bad the iPhone app sucks.

Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

27 Dec 2011 23:54