Security - The Times Of Central Asia

Viewing results 1 - 6 of 435

Security

Videos Show Man Tackling Hostage-Taker at Almaty Airport

A Kazakh man who disarmed a hostage-taker by grabbing the knife from his hand at Almaty International Airport is being celebrated internationally for his courage. Several videos and accounts of the dramatic scene in the airport on Friday are circulating widely on the internet. The videos show the assailant holding a woman by her hair and making threats as security officials converge. He then lets go of the woman after a man offers himself as a hostage - and disarms the hostage-taker shortly afterward. A scuffle ensues as the man and officials subdue the attacker. Multiple reports identified the man who disarmed the attacker as former boxer Musa Abdraim, who is in his early 50s. The World Boxing Council identified him as Mussa Abraimov. WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman said on Instagram that he had a “great” video call with the former boxer and that he would receive the council’s “bravest man on earth” award. Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev was informed about the hostage situation at the airport, according to presidential press secretary Ruslan Zheldibay. “The President highlighted the bravery and skill of the man who disarmed the criminal and ordered that he be nominated for a state award,” Zheldibay said on social media platforms. The woman who was taken hostage and released was in uniform, suggesting that she was an airport employee. The attack occurred in the security check area of the airport. A criminal case has been opened against the hostage-taker. Authorities have not commented on his motivations. Abdraim spoke to journalists after the incident. "I watched him carefully, and as soon as his grip weakened slightly, I had to seize the knife from his hands,” Tengri News, a media outlet based in Kazakhstan, quoted him as saying. “As a man, as a citizen of the Republic of Kazakhstan, I simply could not have acted differently."

Education Security Afghanistan Diplomacy Women's rights Regional Security

Opinion: Balancing Rights and Realities – Engaging Afghanistan for Change

The attention of the international community has once again turned to human rights in Afghanistan following the latest report by Richard Bennett, the United Nations Human Rights Council’s Special Rapporteur on Afghanistan. In his report, Bennett recommended that member states consider the concept of gender apartheid and support its codification, noting that Afghan women regard this term as the most accurate description of their situation. This initiative emerged in response to the tightening restrictions on women and girls imposed by the Taliban. The renewed focus on gender issues is not exactly what Central Asian countries expect in the context of Afghan settlement. For them, it is far more important to address pressing issues of security, economic cooperation, and control of migration flows, which directly affect regional stability. Therefore, Central Asian states prefer to concentrate on practical steps and avoid over-politicizing issues that could complicate dialogue with the Taliban and exacerbate the situation in neighboring Afghanistan. Today, women’s rights have become a cornerstone in the international community’s attempts to establish dialogue with the Taliban. The rights of women in Afghanistan have been a journey, with different periods bringing different challenges. Back in the 1920s, Amanullah Khan was a real game-changer, giving Afghan women the official equal status they deserved. But then things changed a bit during King Zahir Shah's reign (1933–1973) when education became a priority, and girls started going to school. By 1973, a heartening number of 150,000 girls were proudly enrolled in schools across the country. And let's not forget the momentous step of Kabul University opening its doors to women in 1947. Since the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021, women’s rights in Afghanistan have been significantly curtailed. Women are banned from attending educational institutions, working in most sectors, traveling without a male escort, and participating in public life. These measures have already received widespread international condemnation — rightfully so — but the official recognition of "gender apartheid" as a crime against humanity could give this issue a new legal status and increase pressure on the Islamic Emirate. The question is: How productive is this approach? The politicization of Afghan settlement, especially through the lens of women’s rights, may only worsen the situation. Making gender issues a precondition for dialogue severely limits the space for negotiations with the Taliban regime. In the United Nations itself, the Taliban are considered the "de facto authorities" of Afghanistan, and dialogue with them takes place at various bilateral and multilateral levels. In this context, strict demands on women’s rights could delay or even halt the process of engagement. This is because the Taliban perceives such conditions as interference in their internal affairs and cultural norms. Dialogue at an Impasse: Is an Inclusive Government Being Set Aside? The international community — primarily its Western segment — and the Islamic Emirate have taken extremely rigid positions. For international actors, women’s and girls’ rights have become the top priority, while the issue of forming an inclusive government in Afghanistan has receded into the background....

Security Education Healthcare Children incident

Kindergarten in Uzbekistan Stages Dangerous Show with Poisonous Cobras

A kindergarten in Uzbekistan sparked widespread outrage after staging a performance involving poisonous Central Asian cobras, a species listed in the Red Book of Uzbekistan's endangered plant and animals. Footage of the event, which was shared on social media, showed the snakes being handled in close proximity to children, raising serious concerns about safety and animal welfare. In the video, a man can be seen demonstrating two venomous snakes to a group of young children, with no apparent safety measures in place. The cobras were allowed to move freely on the floor near the children. The Uzbek language heard in the recording confirms the location as Uzbekistan, but the exact location of the kindergarten has yet to be identified. The incident has prompted public outcry, with many questioning the judgment of the organizers and the lack of safeguards for the children. So far, the Ministry of Preschool and School Education has refrained from issuing an official statement. The situation has caught the attention of the Children's Ombudsman in Uzbekistan. The Ombudsman’s press service announced that law enforcement agencies are actively working to determine the circumstances and location of the performance, as well as the identities of those responsible. A full investigation is underway, and the organizers’ actions will be subject to legal assessment once the inquiry is complete. This is not the first time unauthorized animal performances have taken place in Uzbekistan. In December of last year, a similar case was reported in the Koshrabad district of the Samarkand region. Two individuals held unauthorized shows at schools and kindergartens, featuring a tiger python. The snake was later confiscated and handed over to the regional department of ecology. These incidents highlight a recurring issue of unregulated animal performance in educational institutions, raising questions about safety, legal oversight, and the ethical treatment of wildlife.

Russia Crime Espionage Cyber Security investigation Security

Cyber Déjà Vu: Is Russia Spying on Kazakhstan Again?

Another espionage scandal is gaining traction in the Western media, with Kazakhstan once again at its center. Within Kazakhstan, however, the topic of Russian cyber activities against the country is receiving minimal attention in the press. While Akorda seeks to navigate its delicate relationship with the Kremlin, any overt allegations of espionage might provoke Moscow’s powerful propaganda machine, which continues to exert significant influence over public opinion in Kazakhstan. This time, the intrigue is unfolding in cyberspace, where a hacker group identified as UAC-0063, potentially linked to the Kremlin-backed Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) group known as APT28, has been implicated in spying on diplomatic institutions across Central Asia. The group’s activities, which can be traced back to at least 2021, have targeted not only Kazakhstan, but also Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and other countries. Their previous targets include diplomatic, non-profit, academic, energy, and defense organizations in Ukraine, Israel, India, and the wider Central Asian region. According to a cyber espionage investigation by Sekoia, UAC-0063 hackers infiltrated Kazakhstan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs by leveraging official documents, such as emails, draft memos, and internal administrative communications. These documents — likely used to deliver malware — were either stolen in prior cyber operations, obtained from open sources, or acquired through other unknown means. Sekoia identified around two dozen such documents, dating from 2021 to October 2024, which primarily addressed Kazakhstan’s diplomatic cooperation and economic relations with other countries. The researchers suggest this campaign is part of a broader, Kremlin-backed global cyber espionage operation targeting Central Asia, with a particular focus on Kazakhstan's foreign relations. This latest revelation is a reminder of other episodes. One prominent ongoing case involves individuals in London who stand accused of preparing actions at the behest of Russia against Kazakhstan's diplomatic mission in the United Kingdom and targeting President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s son. Even more striking is the echo of the Pegasus spyware scandal, which emerged in 2021. An investigation by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) revealed that the Israeli-developed Pegasus spyware was used to monitor a wide range of individuals in Kazakhstan, including independent journalists, activists, human rights defenders, and high-ranking officials. Among the targets were President Tokayev, then-Prime Minister Askar Mamin, former Akim of Almaty Bakytzhan Sagintayev, and several of Kazakhstan’s wealthiest business-people. At the time, public suspicion fell upon Karim Massimov, the former chief of the National Security Committee (KNB), as the perpetrator of the Pegasus surveillance. However, the issue faded into obscurity following the unrest of January 2022, the events of which were officially described as an attempted coup d’état. To this day, no definitive answers have been provided about who orchestrated the Pegasus cyberattacks or their motives. Now, with fresh reports of Russian-linked malware targeting Kazakhstan’s cyber-security, it appears that history may be repeating itself. The key question which remains - is this merely a case of déjà vu, or could it signal the groundwork for a new effort to destabilize Kazakhstan?

USA Migrants Deportation Wagner Group Border Security

Russian or Kazakh? Questions, Security Concerns About Man Detained at U.S. Border

A man who said he is a citizen of Kazakhstan pleaded guilty this week to illegally entering the United States at the southern border with Mexico. But U.S. prosecutors said he was also carrying a Russian passport and that he admitted to being a member of the Wagner Group, a Russia-backed mercenary organization that is a target of U.S. sanctions, according to a media report in Texas. A criminal complaint filed on Jan. 5 against the man, Timur Praliev, says U.S. Border Patrol agents encountered him on the previous day. “When questioned as to his citizenship, defendant stated that he was a citizen and national of Kazakhstan, who had entered the United States illegally on January 4, 2025 by crossing the Rio Grande River near Roma, Texas,” read the complaint, which was filed in federal court in McAllen, Texas. However, the ValleyCentral.com news site, which covers the Rio Grande Valley in south Texas, reported that Praliev was carrying both Russian and Kazakh passports, a total of about $7,000 in U.S. dollars and Mexican pesos and also had a drone in his backpack. The news site attributed information about Praliev to Assistant U.S. Attorney Amanda McColgan. The federal prosecutor requested that Praliev be sentenced to 15 days in prison because of concern about his association with Wagner, which has fought in Western-backed Ukraine and also projected Russian power in Syria and several African countries, with sometimes brutal methods. On Jan. 7, Praliev pleaded guilty to illegal entry into the United States and U.S. Magistrate Judge J. Scott Hacker sentenced him to time served, meaning that he had completed his prison sentence while waiting in detention for the hearing. Dave Hendricks, the journalist who reported on the case for ValleyCentral.com, said on X that “he'll almost certainly remain in federal custody until he's deported.”

Security reintegration of returnees from Iraq and Syria Regional Security Reintegration Syria Social protection

Central Asia Leads in Repatriating Citizens from Syrian Camps

Central Asian governments are at the forefront of efforts to repatriate their citizens from camps in northeastern Syria, according to Khalid Koser, head of the Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund (GCERF). In an interview with RIA Novosti, Koser highlighted that, unlike European nations, Central Asian states have taken responsibility for their nationals. GCERF is an international organization supporting local initiatives to prevent extremism and violence by fostering partnerships between governments, civil society, and the private sector. Koser noted that approximately 2,200 Central Asian citizens have been repatriated from these camps. Kazakhstan has brought back 754 individuals, Kyrgyzstan 533, Tajikistan 381, and Uzbekistan 531. By contrast, Koser criticized European nations for neglecting their citizens in the camps. “Tajikistan says, ‘These are our citizens, and we are responsible for them,’” Koser stated. “Meanwhile, Western Europe hopes the problem will disappear, leaving people to die in camps.” The head of GCERF also pointed out the challenges of repatriating men, many of whom were combatants. “The question now is how to handle those who fought, were involved in terrorism, and face difficulties reintegrating. Most will end up in prison, which could lead to further radicalization within the prison system,” Koser warned. The camps in northeastern Syria, managed by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the United States, house 65,000 to 70,000 people. Most of the residents are women and children from families of ISIS militants. While the camps are not officially prisons, movement is restricted, and Kurdish forces prevent residents from leaving. The Times of Central Asia has previously reviewed the repatriation operations undertaken by Central Asian countries, which continue to set a global example in addressing this humanitarian and security challenge.