Kazakhstan detains government critic for 'spreading false information'

ALMATY (Reuters) - Kazakhstan has detained political activist and government critic Arman Shorayev in connection with the alleged spreading of "false information" during a state of emergency, police said on Saturday.

The former television executive turned nationalist politician has often attacked members of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev's cabinet, while avoiding criticism of the president himself.

"Using social networks, citizen Shorayev ... has repeatedly spread knowingly false information," a brief police statement said, without providing further details.

It said Shorayev's actions had endangered public order at the time of the national coronavirus emergency and could be punishable by up to seven years in prison.

In a Facebook post made around midday on Saturday, Shorayev accused a senior official of corruption. In other recent posts he criticised the government's borrowing plans and the cost of building a specialised hospital for coronavirus patients.

Last year, he became a member of the council of national trust, an advisory body set up by Tokayev, but was removed by the president this year along with several other members in what officials said was a planned rotation.

(This story corrects spelling of Shorayev's name in paragraphs 3 and 4(

(Reporting by Olzhas Auyezov; Editing by Mike Harrison)