Kazakh courts sentenced nine Islamic State supporters and two leading political activists to prison terms in separate trials on Monday after their convictions over the two biggest shocks to veteran President Nursultan Nazarbayev's rule. While unrelated, street unrest in April and May and a deadly Islamist attack in June dealt twin blows to stability in the oil-producing Central Asian state run since 1989 by Nazarbayev, who has brooked no dissent but remained broadly popular thanks to rising general wealth until a recent currency devaluation. Political activists Maks Bokayev and Talgat Ayanov were sentenced to five years in prison each on Monday.
