ALMATY, Kazakhstan -- Police in Kazakhstan's largest city, Almaty, have detained at least a dozen activists ahead of planned protests by two opposition groups in the oil-rich Central Asian country on February 22.

The activists from the unregistered Democratic Party of Kazakhstan shouted 'Freedom!' as police detained them not far from a central square where supporters of the party are planning to hold an unsanctioned rally amid a heavy police presence in and around the square.