KZBlog

According to Kazakhstan Today, this morning, a woman set herself on fire in the public reception of Nur-Otan in Astana. There’s not a lot of official information out yet, but apparently she was protesting the conviction of her son. And she is apparently alive and in the hospital.

A comment on zakon.kz claims that the son was accused of stabbing and beating up three men in a cafe.

Whether or not the son was guilty, the troubling fact remains that this woman felt there was no recourse for justice for her and that she felt that Nurotan was somehow culpable or involved in the same institutions as the court system. In the wake of this act, prisoner protests involving self-mutilation, strikes in Mangistau and possibly the bombings on KNB offices in Astana and Aktobe, the government should take a long hard look at whether or not people feel they have just representation and free avenues to appeal the decisions of officials. Otherwise tragic protests like this one will only continue.