AKTOBE, Kazakhstan (TCA) — A court in the northwestern Kazakh city of Aktobe has convicted 29 men in a high-profile terrorism trial, RFE/RL reported.
On November 28, seven of the 29 defendants were found guilty of terrorism, murder, organizing and participating in a terrorist group, and illegal weapons possession, and were sentenced to life in prison.
Two other defendants were sentenced to 22 and 25 years in jail on the same charges.
Eighteen defendants were convicted of failing to report planned terrorist acts and sentenced to prison terms ranging from two to five years.
The other two defendants were convicted of harboring criminals and sentenced to four years each.
In June, a group of 25 alleged Islamic militants carried out attacks that killed five civilians and three members of Kazakhstan’s security forces in Aktobe.
Security forces killed 18 gunmen and arrested several others.
Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev then said the attacks were carried out by followers of Salafi Islam.
“It was a terrorist attack of a group of followers of the non-traditional religious movement of Salafism. While ensuring the freedom of faith, we at the same time are resolved to decisively repulse all those that are trying to rock the situation in the country under the pretext of religious slogans,” the President’s press service quoted Nazarbayev as saying after the June attacks.
