Former Kazakh security boss jailed for 18 years over role in attempted coup

FILE PHOTO: Kazakhstan's Prime Minister Karim Masimov attends a forum in Almaty, Kazakhstan July 5, 2008. REUTERS/Pavel Mikheyev

ALMATY (Reuters) - A court in Kazakhstan on Monday sentenced the former head of the country's state security body to 18 years in prison over his role in violent unrest and an attempted coup that took place in January 2022.

Protests over fuel price increases last year quickly turned into the deadliest bout of political violence in oil-rich Kazakhstan's history, with 238 people dying in clashes and local government buildings in several cities coming under attack.