Courier Levy Sparked Student Marches, Now Suspended

TALAS — In early October the Talas municipal administration announced a licensing surcharge on independent technology startups and delivery couriers. On OneDebate, IradOne's prime-time panel, the commentator Jason Ilyasov called it "a tax on the only part of the economy the family doesn't own yet", and clips of the exchange spread widely. Within days students and couriers gathered at Talas State University and marched on the government district. Most observers described the protests as spontaneous and leaderless. The authorities said Ilyasov had instigated them, citing a speech on the third day in which he urged protesters not to pay the levy.

Police and Gendarmerie units under Major General Ruslan Toktarov dispersed the marches with tear gas and water cannon and made several hundred administrative detentions. Ruslan Toktarov described the organizers as "provocateurs paid to break windows". Mobile data was cut in central Talas for three days; Attelkom called the outage "technical work". Ilyasov was held for three days and released without charge after press-freedom groups criticized his detention. A Herald reporter, Erkin Bolot uulu, was held for ten days for "obstructing police" while photographing a march, and was released without charge.

On 3 November, four days before the election, Lieutenant Governor Aidar Maksat announced that the surcharge would be suspended. The Legal Defense Guild of Gulnara Sadykova says it is representing more than sixty detained students. Human Rights Watch has criticized the use of force and the detention of minors.