ALMATY -- Kazakh activists warned about continued arrests in Almaty for the second day in a row, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) reported Monday (December 17).
Police detained the director of the human rights foundation Ar.Rukh.Khaq (Dignity, Spirit, Truth), Bakhytjan Toregkhojina; lawyer Gulnara Juaspayeva; the founder of the opposition DAT newspaper, Ermurat Bapi; and several civic activists, without stating their reasons, said activists on Facebook Monday.
Police were also deployed outside the homes of the Uralskaya Nedelya newspaper's owner, Tamara Eslyamova, and its editor-in-chief, Lukpan Akhmedyarov, in Oral (Uralsk), confining them to their homes, the Adil Soz (A Just Word) media watchdog in Kazakhstan reported, according to RFE/RL.
Arrests started Sunday (December 16) when police in Almaty briefly detained several human rights activists during several demonstrations, including the country's independence day celebrations.
On Sunday in Oral, police also detained journalists Maria Melnikova and Raul Uporov from the Uralskaya Nedelya newspaper.
