KYIV: Ukraine said Friday it had identified two suspects in the attempted murder of a Kazakh opposition figure in Kyiv and that the perpetrators had escaped to neighboring Moldova.
Police in Ukraine’s capital said this week that a prominent Kazakh anti-government activist, Aydos Sadykov, had been shot and seriously wounded outside his home.
The outspoken critic of Kazakhstan’s leadership has a large following on social media and was granted asylum in Ukraine in 2014.
“Two men carefully planned the murder of a journalist,” the office of the prosecutor general in Ukraine said in a statement, adding the suspects were both Kazakh citizens.
It said they had entered the country on June 2 from Poland and carried out surveillance on Sadykov before attempting to assassinate him on Tuesday.
“The suspects left the territory of Ukraine on the day of the attempted murder, crossing the border of Ukraine and Moldova,” the statement said, adding that both suspects are on an international wanted list.
The activist’s wife Natalia Sadykova said Friday that Sadykov remained in serious condition in hospital, and blamed Kazakhstan’s president Kassym-Jomart Tokayev for orchestrating the attack.
“I was not mistaken, neither when I accused Tokayev of the assassination attempt or when I said that the shooter was a professional,” Sadykova said.
Tokayev has instructed Kazakh law enforcement agencies to cooperate with Ukraine to locate the suspects, his spokesperson said, according to Russian news agencies.
“Astana is ready to cooperate with Ukraine, including through Interpol,” the spokesperson was cited as saying.
Human Rights Watch called for an investigation into the shooting.
“The news of the attack on Sadykov during broad daylight in the Kyiv city center is deeply disturbing,” said Hugh Williamson, Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch.
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Kyiv says suspects of Kazakh activist shooting fled Ukraine
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Kyiv says suspects of Kazakh activist shooting fled Ukraine
- Police said this week that a prominent Kazakh anti-government activist, Aydos Sadykov, had been shot and seriously wounded outside his home
- “The suspects left the territory of Ukraine on the day of the attempted murder, crossing the border of Ukraine and Moldova,” the statement said
Portugal far-right hopeful enters vote as favorite
LISBON: A far-right candidate in Portugal’s presidential election, Andre Ventura, has emerged as the favorite for Sunday’s first round of voting, according to polls.
But regardless of whom the president of the Chega (“Enough“) party encounters in the second-round runoff in February, he has very little chance of carrying the day to succeed conservative incumbent Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.
Some polls point to a second-round duel between Ventura and Socialist Antonio Jose Seguro, while others suggest that Luis Marques Mendes, who has the support of conservative Prime Minister Luis Montenegro, could make the run-off.
Among the 11 candidates, a record number, two others also stand a chance to win a spot in the second round. They are Henrique Gouveia e Melo, a retired admiral who led Portugal’s vaccination campaign during the Covid epidemic, and Joao Cotrim Figueiredo, a liberal member of the European Parliament.
While Ventura’s chances of moving past the first round are slim, the election marks an important step in his electoral fortunes that have improved at lightning pace since he founded Chega in 2019.
His party, highly centered on its leader, won 22.8 percent of the vote and 60 seats in a general election in May of last year, turning it into the biggest opposition party.
The head of state’s role in Portugal is mostly ceremonial, although the president has the power in times of crisis to dissolve parliament, call elections or dismiss the prime minister.
Ventura has expressed his desire to eventually run the country as prime minister, with experts saying that he sees Sunday’s vote mainly as a test of his popularity.
“Andre Ventura is running to keep his voter base,” said Antonio Costa Pinto, a political scientist at Lisbon University. “There could be a surprise increase,” he told AFP.
A stronger far right would add pressure on the minority government of Montenegro who relies on Chega for support for the implementation of some of his policies.
Portugal, a country of nearly 11 million inhabitants, is a member of the European Union and the eurozone. It accounts for around 1.6 percent of the EU’s gross domestic product (GDP).
But regardless of whom the president of the Chega (“Enough“) party encounters in the second-round runoff in February, he has very little chance of carrying the day to succeed conservative incumbent Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.
Some polls point to a second-round duel between Ventura and Socialist Antonio Jose Seguro, while others suggest that Luis Marques Mendes, who has the support of conservative Prime Minister Luis Montenegro, could make the run-off.
Among the 11 candidates, a record number, two others also stand a chance to win a spot in the second round. They are Henrique Gouveia e Melo, a retired admiral who led Portugal’s vaccination campaign during the Covid epidemic, and Joao Cotrim Figueiredo, a liberal member of the European Parliament.
While Ventura’s chances of moving past the first round are slim, the election marks an important step in his electoral fortunes that have improved at lightning pace since he founded Chega in 2019.
His party, highly centered on its leader, won 22.8 percent of the vote and 60 seats in a general election in May of last year, turning it into the biggest opposition party.
The head of state’s role in Portugal is mostly ceremonial, although the president has the power in times of crisis to dissolve parliament, call elections or dismiss the prime minister.
Ventura has expressed his desire to eventually run the country as prime minister, with experts saying that he sees Sunday’s vote mainly as a test of his popularity.
“Andre Ventura is running to keep his voter base,” said Antonio Costa Pinto, a political scientist at Lisbon University. “There could be a surprise increase,” he told AFP.
A stronger far right would add pressure on the minority government of Montenegro who relies on Chega for support for the implementation of some of his policies.
Portugal, a country of nearly 11 million inhabitants, is a member of the European Union and the eurozone. It accounts for around 1.6 percent of the EU’s gross domestic product (GDP).
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