A military court in Almaty resumed hearings on the case of the murder of Aikorkem Medelkhan, a four-year-old who was shot while in her father’s car during Qandy Qantar (Kazakh for “Bloody January”, the violent repression of urban protests and riots that shook the country last year). At the July 13 hearing, however, the court barred Aikorkem’s father and the press from attending, citing the confidentiality of the trial. “They shot my daughter. Now, in order to hide their crimes, they hold the trial behind closed doors,” Aidos Meldekhan said.