The ‘souls of the dead’ on trial

Long after ‘Bloody January,’ the Kazakhstani authorities continue to prosecute protesters who died in the unrest

Criminal proceedings against citizens accused of taking part in the protests that rocked Kazakhstan in January 2022 are still ongoing, according to BBC News Russian. More than 5,000 criminal cases were opened in the wake of “Bloody January,” including ones against people who died in the unrest. The targets of these posthumous trials include six people who were killed in Almaty, two who were killed in Kyzylorda, and seven who were killed in Taraz. Kazakhstanis have termed them the “trials of the souls of the dead.”

One of the defendants in question is Shyngys Tastanbekov, who was 34 when he was killed. Investigators alleged that he took part in the protests and that four other suspects who also died during the unrest attacked the president’s residence and the city administration building. All five of them were convicted, and the ruling was upheld by an appeals court in June. The court did not hand down a sentence, citing the defendants’ deaths.

Zhaksylyk Dolda, the lawyer representing Tastanbekov’s family, has denounced the trial as political, citing procedural violations committed during the investigation phase. The prosecution’s “evidence,” for example, included video footage that showed Tastanbekov standing in a crowd. Under Kazakhstan’s Criminal Procedure Code, the prosecutors are required to show the video to the defense in its entirety, but the clips used to convict Tastanbekov had been edited. According to Dolda, nowhere in the video is Tastanbekov seen attacking any buildings or police officers.

Additionally, investigators did not commission any expert analyses of the footage to prove that the person it shows is actually Tastanbekov. The BBC noted that he was initially charged with terrorism and attacking government structures as well but that those charges were ultimately dropped due to a lack of evidence.

Tastanbekov’s relatives do not believe he committed the crimes he was convicted of. According to his sister, Shynar, the prosecution’s evidence is self-contradictory; among other things, some materials say that Tastanbekov was killed on January 5 outside of the president’s residence in Almaty, while others say his body wasn’t found until January 7 and was in a different location. Shynar also said one investigator asked the family to sign a confession statement confirming that Tastanbekov took part in the protests. When they refused, according to Shynar, the investigator threatened them. Shynar maintains that her brother did not participate in any riots or seizures of government buildings but simply attended a peaceful protest to help the other demonstrators “convey the people’s desperation to the authorities.”

In January 2022, the Almaty authorities opened a criminal case over Tastanbekov’s murder, but his death was never investigated, his lawyer told the BBC. According to Dolda, in the first examination of Tastanbekov’s body, a police officer noted that he had a through-and-through gunshot wound and burn marks on his lower leg, but the burn isn’t mentioned in the official forensic report. Dolda believes his client may have died while being tortured, but the court did not take this possibility into account. Kazakhstan’s Prosecutor General has acknowledged that security officials tortured some people who were arrested in connection with the unrest, and a total of 203 criminal cases were opened over alleged instances of torture and abuse of authority. To this day, it’s unclear who fired at protesters.

International human rights organizations have called on the Kazakh authorities to conduct an independent investigation of the January unrest, but Kazakhstan’s president, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, has maintained that involving international experts is unnecessary. As of June 2023, only 12 people had been charged in connection with protesters’ death, according to the BBC. According to human rights advocates, more than 40 cases opened over protesters’ deaths have been dismissed or classified.

Seven other people who were killed during the protests have been convicted of participating in mass protests in the city of Taraz. According to journalist Yesdaulet Kyzyrbekuly, none of the suspects’ parents believe the authorities’ account of their childrens’ deaths. One of the people convicted, Andrey Opushiev, was 17 years old when he died. He died from a bullet wound after being shot in the back, and his jaw, teeth, fingers, and left leg were broken. Despite his family’s pleas, the authorities have not investigated his death.