Israeli Shot To Death In Kazakhstan’s Bloody Protests

An Israeli resident of Kazakhstan was shot to death on Friday evening in the violent protests in the Central Asian country.

Levan Kogeashvili, z’l, 22, and his parents moved to Almaty, the largest city in Kazakhstan, in 2018, and he was attending dental school there. He was married and had an eight-month-old baby.

The ministry is working with Kogeashvili’s parents to bring Levan’s body to Israel for burial.

Ynet reported that Kogeashvili was not involved in the protests but was shot and killed near his home by gunmen who opened fire on the vehicle he was driving in.

“Right next to his house, there was gunfire at his car,” said Rostislav Edelstein, a relative of the family who lives in Ashdod. “No one knows who fired – whether local forces or the protesters. He was hit with two bullets.”

The report added that Kogeashvili’s parents were taken to a building to identify their son’s body and described it as “a horrific sight of dozens of bodies.”

The Foreign Ministry issued a travel warning on January 6 advising all Israelis to avoid traveling to Kazakhstan, which is experiencing bloody street protests. The protests began due to an almost doubling of prices for fuel and turned into a general protest against the authoritarian government.

Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev authorized security forces on Friday to shoot to kill without warning. “Those who don’t surrender will be eliminated,” he said, referring to the protestors as “terrorists” and “bandits.”