In 2007, Atabek was convicted of organizing mass disorder against the demolition of the Shanyrak shantytown that resulted in the death of a police officer. His supporters believe the case against him was politically motivated. He was sentenced to 18 years in a labor camp. Atabek has always maintained his innocence and even rejected a government pardon if he would admit his guilt.
I don't know the details of this case, but the idea that this one guy incited "mass disorder" makes one stop and wonder. If the disorder was "mass," then there must have been a goodly measure of disaffection already building. Atabek may just have been announcing what everybody already had concluded. The policeman's death is the most problematic factor here. As Kenneth Patchen said, "There are no proportions in death."
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