Nine extremist acts prevented in Kazakhstan in 2016, 25 people convicted of terrorism - National Security Committee
ASTANA. Sept 23 (Interfax) - Sixty-four extremist acts have been prevented in Kazakhstan since 2011, deputy chairman of the Kazakh National Security Committee Nurgali Bilisbekov said.
"Sixty-four violent extremist actions have been prevented and thwarted at the early stage of preparations since 2011, including already nine such instances since the beginning of this year," he said in Astana on Thursday at a roundtable addressing legislative and institutional measures to prevent and suppress extremism and terrorism in the present-day period.
"Terrorist attacks on popular civilian venues, as well as attacks on facilities of personnel of law enforcement and specialized state agencies, have been prevented," Bilisbekov said.
Forty-five Kazakh citizens have been deported and extradited from camps of international terrorist organizations and 33 of them have returned to Kazakhstan on their own, he said. Of these 45 people, 33 have been prosecuted for their involvement in terrorist activity.
As many as 445 people have been convicted on terrorism-related charges in Kazakhstan over the past five years, including 25 since the beginning of 2016, Bilisbekov said. Around 50 people accused of such crimes are currently being held in remand centers, he said.
