A scandal has erupted in Kazakhstan's capital over men who posed as military recruitment officers in a video circulating on social media. The city's Department of Defense Affairs said the individuals have no connection to the agency and that no raids are currently being conducted in Astana, according to infohub.kz.
An Astana resident said on social media that around 9 p.m. he was returning from work with his pregnant wife. On the way, two unknown men began following them, later called him by his full name, introduced themselves as military recruitment officers and demanded he go with them. The man explained that he had a certificate of unfitness for service, but the strangers, joined later by a third, blocked their path.
When the pregnant woman started filming the scene on her mobile phone, the men began hiding their faces and, after she threatened to call the police, quickly fled. The author of the post suggested he had encountered a fraudulent scheme.
The defense agency recalled that conscription is carried out officially: through SMS notifications from service 1414 or by delivering summonses at the place of residence and work. Only the police are responsible for identifying draft evaders.
Law enforcement have already identified all three participants in the incident. Their actions will be given a legal assessment in accordance with the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
Earlier, Kursiv wrote that Telegram bots began scaring Kazakh conscripts with raids near clubs. To make them more convincing, alleged "signals" with geolocations are even leaked online, warning of danger near gaming establishments. The Ministry of Defense of Kazakhstan promptly responded to these false reports and urged citizens not to believe dubious publications. Agency representatives officially stated that the disseminated information is untrue because it is not official.