Kazakhstan’s security service has detained ten people in the western city of Atyrau over an alleged plan to change the constitutional order by force. Investigators also say the suspects operated three underground educational centers for children and teenagers.
The National Security Committee (KNB) announced on November 2 that the arrests took place on October 30. The operation was coordinated with the prosecutor’s office, and all ten suspects were detained simultaneously. Investigators suspect the detainees of creating, leading, or participating in an extremist group. The allegations also include promoting terrorism and inciting religious discord.
According to the KNB, the group sought to “forcibly change the foundations of the constitutional order” in western Kazakhstan. The authorities have not identified the group or disclosed a specific plan of attack.
Officers searched the suspects’ homes and seized firearms, drugs, religious items, literature, and other materials, the committee said. It released images and video from the operation, showing armed officers taking suspects into custody.
The three educational centers are a notable element of the investigation. The KNB said the suspected group established the facilities for children and teenagers and that officers had stopped their activities.
The committee gave no attendance figures or details of what the children were being taught. It also said several suspects had previously been convicted of terrorism-related or other criminal offenses.
In its announcement, the KNB cited Article 201 of Kazakhstan’s Criminal Procedure Code, which restricts the release of information during a pretrial investigation. The suspects’ identities have not been released.
Earlier Extremism Investigations
The Atyrau case follows a series of security operations involving alleged extremist propaganda and recruitment across Kazakhstan. The authorities have increased investigations into the distribution of extremist material, including through social media.
In a June 12 statement, the KNB reported eleven arrests during April and May, including operations in the Atyrau region. The detainees included two foreign nationals and three Kazakh citizens extradited from abroad.
Investigators in those cases alleged the distribution of extremist materials online and among acquaintances. They also cited calls to travel to areas of terrorist activity and use violence against people who held different beliefs.
The same report listed 13 prison sentences in terrorism and extremism cases. An Astana resident received eight years for urging travel to areas of terrorist activity. In another case, a Shymkent man was sentenced to seven years after advocating for a theocratic state and spreading terrorist ideas.
A subsequent KNB update reported that 19 people were convicted of terrorism and extremism offenses between June and August. Another 28 were detained on suspicion of related offenses over the same period.
The KNB has repeatedly carried out raids in Atyrau and other regions. In February 2024, it conducted 49 searches across several regions and detained 23 suspects, according to a TCA analysis of the government’s intensifying campaign against extremism. That reporting also examined expanded powers for the committee to monitor online activity.
The authorities have not announced formal indictments or court dates, and the allegations against the ten detainees remain to be tested in court.
