Kuandyk Bishimbayev, 44, was discovered responsible of torture and homicide by the court docket.
A former financial system minister of Kazakhstan was sentenced to 24 years in jail on Monday for murdering his spouse following a extensively watched trial that some noticed as a litmus take a look at of the president’s promise to strengthen girls’s rights.
Kuandyk Bishimbayev, 44, was discovered responsible of torture and homicide by the court docket.
His trial, which has been broadcast stay over the previous seven weeks, has been extensively considered an try by the authorities to ship a message that members of the elite are now not above the legislation.
CCTV footage performed through the trial confirmed Bishimbayev repeatedly punching and kicking his spouse, 31-year-old Saltanat Nukenova, and dragging her by her hair, near-naked, right into a room the place she later died.
Movies have been additionally discovered on Bishimbayev’s cell phone through which he insulted and humiliated the visibly bruised and bloodied Nukenova over the ultimate hours earlier than she misplaced consciousness within the morning of Nov. 9, 2023.
President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, who changed veteran Kazakh chief Nursultan Nazarbayev 5 years in the past, has mentioned he needs to construct a fairer society together with improved rights for ladies.
The case has helped rally public assist behind a legislation criminalising home violence, which parliament handed final month. Authorities knowledge present that one in six girls in Kazakhstan has skilled violence by a male accomplice.
In the course of the trial, Bishimbayev admitted to beating his spouse, however mentioned a few of her accidents have been self-inflicted. He denied torturing or planning to homicide her.
He served because the oil-rich nation’s financial system minister from Could-December 2016. He was convicted of bribery in 2018 and sentenced to 10 years in jail, however walked free after lower than three years due to an amnesty and parole.
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