Former Kazakhstan security head sentenced to 18 years for treason

Former head of Kazakhstan's National Security Committee Karim Massimov has been sentenced to 18 years in prison after being found guilty of treason, the state news agency Kazinform reported on Monday.
Massimov's deputy, Anuar Sadykulov, received a 16-year sentence at the same trial.
The court also confiscated their possessions and banned them from holding state office for life.
The oil and gas-rich former Soviet republic was hit by a wave of protests at the start of 2022 following a doubling in the price of fuel.
The protests evolved into a violent power struggle between the country's elites before being put down by the state with many deaths and arrests.
President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev called in assistance from the Russian-dominated Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) of post-Soviet states.
Following the end of the violent protests, Tokayev continued to act against the power structures set up by his predecessor, Nursultan Nazarbayev, the country's first president, who was deprived of his honorary title as "leader of the nation."
Members of Nazarbayev's family were pushed out of leading positions in politics and business. Massimov, who had held a string of top posts, including that of prime minister, was detained as part of the purge.