Yerlan Nurgaliev was killed while trying to protect antilopes

He was killed while trying to protect antelopes… Over a year later, justice has been served.

This man was killed while trying to protect these antelopes


On January 13, 2019, in the Karaganda region of Kazakhstan, Yerlan Nurgaliev, a forest ranger, was on patrol with a colleague when they noticed fresh car tracks on the ground. In this remote area, that could only mean one thing: poachers. The two men began to pursue them.


This region is home to saigas, antelopes on the brink of extinction that are illegally hunted for their horns. The forest rangers knew they had to act fast. Once they’d caught up with the vehicle, they fired warning shots to get the poachers to stop. The traffickers got out of the car and beat up the two rangers.


2 days later, Yerlan Nurgaliev died from his wounds in hospital. It’s the first time a representative of Okhotzooprom, the agency that protects Kazakhstan’s wildlife, has been killed by poachers.


His death has touched the Kazakh people for whom Yerlan Nurgaliev has become a symbol of integrity. In Almaty, the country’s largest city, a monumental portrait of the forest ranger has been painted on a building to pay homage to him and to demand that justice be done.


On February 21, 2020, the Karangada court delivered its verdict for the 3 poachers accused of having killed Yerlan Nurgaliev: life in prison.


Brut.


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Brut.