An opposition journalist who criticized Kazakh authorities over their bloody handling of last December’s riots in a mining town was beaten and stabbed in an apparent murder attempt, local media said on Friday.
Five young men jumped Lukpan Akhmedyarov overnight outside his house in the city of Uralsk in western Kazakhstan, knocking him unconscious and repeatedly stabbing him in the back, said his employer, Uralskaya Nedelya weekly.
Akhmedyarov was in serious, but stable condition after a three-hour operation on Friday, Uralskaya Nedelya said on its website. The attackers missed his heart and major arteries, though he has stab wounds to the stomach and neck, the report said.
A case was opened on attempted murder charges, though no suspects were named as of Friday, and law enforcers voiced no versions of the incident.
In March, Akhmedyarov participated in a rally criticizing Kazakhstan authorities for their handling of the riots in Zhanaozen, where a worker strike ended in clashes with police and between14 and 70 people were killed, according to various estimates. Participants of the rally blamed the central government for mishandling the situation.
Earlier this month, Uralsk prosecutors labeled Akhmedyarov, along with several other activists, a “destructive person” for staging political flash mobs and supporting labor strikes, Newskaz.ru local news agency said.
Akhmedyarov reported that the country’s secret service was pressuring his wife over his protest activity and said local prosecutors put him under surveillance, Newskaz.ru said.
