Kazakhstan authorities raise death toll from unrest to 225

Relatives of those arrested during the unrest in Kazakhstan wait at a police station in Almaty. Authorities have raised the death toll from the riots to 225. Photograph: Sergei Grits/AP

The violent unrest in Kazakhstan that began with peaceful protests in early January has left 225 people dead, authorities have said in a dramatic increase on previous tolls.

“During the state of emergency, the bodies of 225 people were delivered to morgues, of which 19 were law enforcement officers and military personnel,” Serik Shalabayev, the head of criminal prosecution at the prosecutor’s office, told a briefing on Saturday.