In Kazakhstan, ex-minister sentenced to 24 years for murder of wife

Court in Kazakhstan sentenced former Minister of Economy Kuandyk Bishimbayev to 24 years in prison for the murder of his wife, 31-year-old Saltanat Nukenova. On November 9 last year, while in a restaurant, Bishimbayev brutally beat his wife. She died from her injuries.

Witnesses reported that Bishimbayev had previously regularly beaten his wife, and after her murder he continued to have dinner at a restaurant and call back with friends for several hours. At the trial, Bishimbayev admitted that he beat his wife, but stated that he did not want her death.

Together with Bishimbayev, his relative Bakhytzhan Baizhanov, the owner of the company that owned the restaurant where the murder took place, appeared in court. He was accused of concealing a crime: after the beaten Nukenova lost consciousness, he said that she “fell asleep” and did not call the police. Baizhanov sentenced to four years in prison.

The case caused a wide resonance in Kazakhstan. Demonstrations against violence against women took place in cities across the country. Human rights activists indicated that about 400 women die every year as a result of gender-based violence in Kazakhstan. According to statistics, the majority of Kazakhstani women have experienced violence from their husbands or partners. Every year, the police receive more than 100 thousand reports of domestic violence. However, only 40% of cases reach the court, and only a few such crimes receive wide publicity.

On April 15, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev signed a law criminalizing domestic violence.