Kazakhstan: police in quarantine Almaty extort money from citizens
Public activist Bakytzhan Bukharbai, who was previously a member of the National Council of Public Confidence (NCPC) under the President of Kazakhstan, reported extortion by police in Almaty.
According to Bukharbai, he and his wife went to the grocery store. Their car was stopped twice by police patrols: first on the way to the store, then on the way back.
It should be noted that due to the coronavirus, Almaty, like a number of other large cities of Kazakhstan, is closed for quarantine. In this regard, movement around the city is limited. Only employees of some organizations, who have permission with the appropriate documents, can move around. City authorities and law enforcement bodies urge ordinary citizens not to leave their apartments without special need.
“When we went for groceries, the patrol stopped us and demanded a certificate. I informed them about the purpose of our short trip. The law enforcement officer calmly demanded to park the car and come to them with documents. He asked to get into the police car. As soon as I was in the car and handed over the registration certificate, he asked me a question point-blank, “How much will you give?” As a person who does not give a bribe to the police, and indeed to anyone, I was dumbfounded by such unexpected impudence. I asked again, suddenly I misunderstood him. No, that was right. I heard him well, “Leave money, and you can go.” Apparently, in conditions of emergency, they decided not to waste time on hints,” Bukharbai wrote on his Facebook page.
Bukharbai further noted that he shamed a policeman for such an attitude towards citizens.
“I vented my righteous anger right to his face, “I thought that you would be with the people at least in these difficult days. Is it really so hard for you to give up the bad habit of taking a bribe at least for a while? Do you understand that it’s not easy for people now? Or are you not part of the people? I don’t know what he was thinking, but my words took power on him. He handed the registration certificate back, said that I could go. He wrote down my surname by hand on sheet A4, where there were already several dozen names. Like, for the first time, we will manage with a warning,” said Bukharbai.
According to him, the meeting with the patrol on the way back was completely different.
“The policeman stopped me, introduced himself and asked for a certificate of employment. I replied that we went for groceries. He wished a safe journey and saluted. We wished him sound health. This was a policeman who really fulfills his duties to the society,” the public figure emphasized.
The post of Bukharbai in social networks gave a result. The next day, he was escorted by the district police officer and two officers of the criminal investigation department to the city police department, where he was expected by the head of security department, police lieutenant colonel Salamat Kokrekbaev. Then, police officers, who served on posts on the day of the incident, began to be called into the office.
“Since the policeman, who extorted a bribe from me, was in a mask, I did not immediately recognize him, although intuition suggested that it was him. It was the police captain Sabdenov E. When I watched the video, I was shocked. He comes in first from the driver’s side, immediately raises the sound volume of the radio, and because of the loud music you won’t immediately understand the words. But it’s enough to listen, and his phrase is clearly audible, “Can you decide an issue on the spot?” I wrote an explanatory letter asking to hold the employee accountable. Thus, I managed to suppress the activity of one not quite decent servant of the order, and the residents of Almaty will breathe a sigh of relief at least in the coming days. As I understand it, my post was much-talked-of,” Bukharbai said.
