Environmental activist shot dead

    An environmental activist known for his campaign to save a forest near Kazakhstan's largest city, Almaty, has been shot dead.
    Sania Kandieva, a relative of the victim, told RFE/RL on March 11 that the body was found on March 10 and he had probably been killed the night before.
    Qandieva added that she believed that Nurlan Oteuliev's killing must have been connected with his environmental activism.
    Oteluliev was a member of the Tabighat (Nature) Social Fund.
    He was actively involved in a campaign protesting deforestation of the area in the Karasai District near Almaty.
    The Karasai District's Interior Affairs Department has declined to comment on Oteuliev's death, according to RFE/RL said.