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Kazakhstan activists recall path from protest to bloodshed

A protester named Daulet speaks during his interview with The Associated Press in Almaty, Kazakhstan, Tuesday, Jan 11, 2022. At demonstrations in Almaty, protesters say groups of armed men reportedly joined the peaceful rallies and urged the storming of police stations and government buildings. Daulet told AP that he believed the “security forces deliberately painted the protesters as some kind of a fringe group prepared to riot.” (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)

A protester named Beken speaks during his interview with The Associated Press in Almaty, Kazakhstan, Tuesday, Jan. 11, 2022. At demonstrations in the largest city of Almaty, protesters say groups of armed men reportedly joined the peaceful rallies and urged them to storm police stations and government buildings. Beken criticized security forces “for shooting at their own people.” He said a Jan. 6 rally he attended featured peaceful protesters walking toward the military with a white flag. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)

A protester named Bezshan speaks in an interview with The Associated Press in Almaty, Kazakhstan, Tuesday, Jan. 11, 2022. Mass protests in Kazakhstan that began over New Year's weekend because of high fuel prices were peaceful at first, but then something changed. Bezshan said that on Jan. 5, armed men approached and asked young people in the crowd to help them storm a police station. “They said they would hand out weapons,” he told the AP. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)

FILE - Municipal workers cover the burned city hall for repairs in Almaty, Kazakhstan, Jan. 13, 2022. At demonstrations in Almaty, protesters say groups of armed men reportedly joined the peaceful rallies and urged the storming of police stations and government buildings. Soon, city hall was ablaze, cars and buses were set on fire and gunshots rang out. Scores of people were killed and thousands were arrested. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits, File)

FILE - Relatives of arrested after anti-government protests gather near a police station, hoping to learn their fate while a soldier patrols a street in Almaty, Kazakhstan, Jan. 14, 2022. At demonstrations in Almaty, protesters say groups of armed men reportedly joined the peaceful rallies and urged the storming of police stations and government buildings. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits, File)

A protester named Daulet speaks during his interview with The Associated Press in Almaty, Kazakhstan, Tuesday, Jan 11, 2022. At demonstrations in Almaty, protesters say groups of armed men reportedly joined the peaceful rallies and urged the storming of police stations and government buildings. Daulet told AP that he believed the “security forces deliberately painted the protesters as some kind of a fringe group prepared to riot.” (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)

FILE - The body of a victim is seen in a damaged car in Almaty, Kazakhstan, Friday, Jan. 7, 2022. On Jan. 6, security forces killed dozens of protesters. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said he had given security forces shoot-to-kill orders to halt the violent unrest, saying: “We intend to act with maximum severity regarding lawbreakers.” (AP Photo/Vasily Krestyaninov, File

A protester named Beken speaks during his interview with The Associated Press in Almaty, Kazakhstan, Tuesday, Jan. 11, 2022. At demonstrations in the largest city of Almaty, protesters say groups of armed men reportedly joined the peaceful rallies and urged them to storm police stations and government buildings. Beken criticized security forces “for shooting at their own people.” He said a Jan. 6 rally he attended featured peaceful protesters walking toward the military with a white flag. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)

FILE - Kyrgyz musician Vikram Ruzakhunov, right, speaks to the media in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, Jan. 10, 2022. Ruzakhunov was arrested in Kazakhstan amid unrest there and authorities in Kyrgyzstan demanded his release. Ruzakhnunov appeared in a video on Kazakh television and said he had joined the protests, but he later told a Kyrgyz broadcaster that while in jail, his cellmates said the quickest way to get released was to confess to a false story, so that’s what he did. (AP Photo/Vladimir Voronin, File)

A protester named Marat speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in Almaty, Kazakhstan, Tuesday, Jan 11, 2022. At demonstrations in the city, protesters say groups of armed men reportedly joined the peaceful rallies and urged them to storm police stations and government buildings. Marat told AP that the authorities "haven’t so far showed us a single terrorist,” citing only the highly publicized arrest of Vikram Ruzakhunov, a well-known jazz pianist from neighboring Kyrgyzstan. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)

FILE - In this photo released by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service, Russian peacekeepers of the Collective Security Treaty Organization guard an area in Kazakhstan, Jan. 12, 2022. Clashes with police in the largest city of Almaty led to chaos on Jan. 5. Authorities blamed the violence on “terrorists” backed by foreigners, but some analysts saw this as a pretext for bringing in the mostly Russian forces. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP, File

FILE - The city hall building is seen through smoke in Almaty, Kazakhstan, Jan. 6, 2022. At demonstrations in Almaty, protesters say groups of armed men reportedly joined the peaceful rallies and urged the storming of police stations and government buildings. Soon, city hall was ablaze, cars and buses were set on fire and gunshots rang out. Scores of people were killed and thousands were arrested. (Vladimir Tretyakov/NUR.KZ via AP, File)

FILE - Riot police block demonstrators during a protest in Almaty, Kazakhstan, Jan. 5, 2022. At demonstrations in Almaty, protesters say groups of armed men reportedly joined the peaceful rallies and urged the storming of police stations and government buildings. (Vladimir Tretyakov/NUR.KZ via AP, File)

A protester named Bezshan speaks in an interview with The Associated Press in Almaty, Kazakhstan, Tuesday, Jan. 11, 2022. Mass protests in Kazakhstan that began over New Year's weekend because of high fuel prices were peaceful at first, but then something changed. Bezshan said that on Jan. 5, armed men approached and asked young people in the crowd to help them storm a police station. “They said they would hand out weapons,” he told the AP. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)

FILE - People walk past cars, which were burned after clashes, on a street in Almaty, Kazakhstan, Jan. 7, 2022. At demonstrations in the largest city of Almaty, protesters say groups of armed men reportedly joined the peaceful rallies and urged them to storm police stations and government buildings. Soon, city hall was ablaze, vehicles were set on fire and gunshots rang out. Scores of people were killed and thousands were arrested. (AP Photo/Vasily Krestyaninov, File)

FILE - A portrait of former Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev is seen at the city hall building after clashes in the central square blocked by security forces in Almaty, Kazakhstan, Jan. 10, 2022. At demonstrations in the largest city of Almaty, protesters say groups of armed men reportedly joined the peaceful rallies and urged them to storm police stations and government buildings. Nazarbayev stepped down in 2019 in favor of Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, his hand-picked successor but has maintained behind-the-scenes influence. (AP Photo/Vasily Krestyaninov, File)

FILE - In this image taken from video released by Kazakhstan's Presidential Press Service, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev speaks during his televised address to the nation in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan, Jan. 7, 2022. At demonstrations in the largest city of Almaty, protesters say groups of armed men reportedly joined the peaceful rallies and urged them to storm police stations and government buildings. Tokayev has blamed the unrest on “terrorists” who received foreign training and support. (Kazakhstan's Presidential Press Service via AP, File)

FILE - An armed riot police officer detains a protester during a security operation after clashes in Almaty, Kazakhstan, Jan. 8, 2022. At demonstrations in Almaty, protesters say groups of armed men reportedly joined the peaceful rallies and urged them to storm police stations and government buildings. (AP Photo/Vasily Krestyaninov, File)

Galym Ageleuov, a human rights activist and president of the Liberty Foundation speaks during his interview with The Associated Press in Almaty, Kazakhstan, Wednesday, Jan 12, 2022. At demonstrations in the largest city of Almaty, protesters say groups of armed men reportedly joined the peaceful rallies and urged them to storm police stations and government buildings. “A significant part of the people are those who came at the call of their hearts to express their attitude towards the authorities, because they are tired, because they do not feel like the state is providing them with social security,” Ageleuov said. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)

FILE - Protesters lit by their smartphones as they gather in the center of Almaty, Kazakhstan, Jan. 4, 2022. At demonstrations in the largest city of Almaty, protesters say groups of armed men reportedly joined the peaceful rallies and urged them to storm police stations and government buildings. Soon, city hall was ablaze, cars and buses were set on fire and gunshots rang out. Scores of people were killed and thousands arrested. (Vladimir Tretyakov/NUR.KZ via AP, File)

FILE - Riot police prepare to block protesters in the center of Almaty, Kazakhstan, Jan. 5, 2022. At demonstrations in the largest city of Almaty, protesters say groups of armed men reportedly joined the peaceful rallies and urged them to storm police stations and government buildings. (Vladimir Tretyakov/NUR.KZ via AP, File)

Kazakhstan activists recall path from protest to bloodshed