"I only beat my palm"

In Kazakhstan, ex-minister Kuandyk Bishimbaev is accused of brutal murder of his wife. He does not admit guilt, but smiles in court and laughs

In Kazakhstan, there is a trial of the former Minister of National Economy Kuandyk Bishimbaev. According to investigators, in marriage, the ex-official regularly humiliated and brutally beat his wife Saltanat Nukenov, and killed in November 2023. At the meetings, he is trying to shift responsibility to his spouse, and also accuses her of a rampant lifestyle. Bishimbaev may face a life sentence.

The New Gazeta Europe talks about one of the most high -profile processes about the violence of recent years.

Murder

On the evening of November 8, 2023, 31-year-old Saltanat Nukenova, together with her friend and Kuandyk Bishimbaev, went to the concert of Dima Bilan in the central concert hall "Kazakhstan" in Astana. After the show, she, together with her husband, reached the BAU restaurant at the Gastrocenter. In the institution they quarreled. According to investigators, the girl said she was tired of her relationship and wanted to leave. She wrote about this to her brother, promised to come to him for an overnight stay and called a taxi, but never sat in him.

During a quarrel, Bishimbaev began to reproach Nukenov with things and jewelry purchased by her to “humiliate her honor and dignity”, as well as show that she financially depends on him. In response, the girl “ took off all the clothes, except for underwear, and threw away the jewelry in the hall where they were.” Forbaty, he threw his outer clothing on her, the couple went to the parking lot, but after a while she returned to the restaurant again. There, the man, while intoxicated, began to beat the nlinagic with his fists on the head, because of this, the girl fell to the floor.

“After that, he began to kick her with his feet. Trying to be saved, the girl closed in one of the rooms, but Bishimbaev knocked out the door and beat her again. Bishimbaev grabbed Nukenov by the throat and began to strangle, from which the latter lost consciousness and died in place ",

- later said the state prosecutor.

Already during the trial, at one of the meetings, videos from surveillance cameras were shown in the BAU. What is happening in the video coincides with the version of the prosecution.

Saltanat Nukenov was buried in her hometown Pavlodar on November 11. Many strangers came to say goodbye to her, shocked by the story of the murder of a girl. On the same day, the security forces arrested Bishimbaev.

"Family Life"

Bishimbaev worked as the Minister of National Economy of Kazakhstan from May to December 2016. After departure, he was found guilty of receiving bribes and sentenced to ten years in prison, and also forever banned the occupation of state debts. However, in September 2019, the man received parole.

With Nukenova - his second wife - Bishimbaev met in 2022. The media write that he ordered a consultation on astrology on her Instagram, and then for six months he convinced to go on a date with him. As a result, they met in the summer, and already got married in the fall. At the same time, the official version of events is slightly different.

“In August 2022, Bishimbaev, while in the city of Astana, met Nukenova and, experiencing sympathy for her, began to pursue, inviting his dates. Despite the repeated refusals of Nukenova, Bishimbaev obsessively looked after the last and for a short time showed himself only from the positive side. On December 16, 2022, Bishimbaev played a wedding with Nukenova, but officially did not register his relationship and, together with Nukenova, lived in a civil marriage, ”the prosecutor said .

Judging by the testimony of relatives, problems began in marriage almost immediately. The senior assistant to the prosecutor of Astana Aizhan Aimaganova told in court that Bishimbaev forbade his wife to communicate and meet with relatives and friends, and also began to control all her phone calls, correspondence and movement. Soon he also forbade her to earn money, "thereby depriving her of independence and the right to vote in relations with him, and made her completely financially dependent on him, which was also accompanied by an aggressive expression of a sense of unreasonable jealousy."

The investigation also established that Bishimbaev regularly applied physical violence to Nukenova. Relatives of the girl convinced her to leave her husband. Only in 2023 she left her husband at least eight times, but always returned, hoping to establish a relationship.

“In April 2023, Bishimbaev found out that Nukenova's relatives had her photo with a beaten face. Assuming that in the event of a divorce they can blackmail it with these photos, he demanded that Nukenova take an intimate video where it would be naked, and explained that it would be his guarantee. In turn,

Nukenova, being frightened and in constant fear of Bishimbaev’s actions, fulfilled this requirement against her will and forced to take her to take her on video without clothes ”,

- reported at a court session.

In August 2023, Nukenova left her parents in Pavlodar.

“I am leaving for Pavlodar for good. There are no feelings, I don’t want to keep anything and not be able to. You did not apologize for your betrayal. He accused me of everything and insisted on a psychotherapist. You are so blind that I cannot stand it. Sorry, forget. For myself, I put a bold point, ”the girl wrote in her notes.

Bishimbaev at that time also convinced her to return. In October 2023, according to the investigation, he again beat his wife, “as a result of which she had a subdural hematoma, which, by the time of the death of a woman, passed into the“ chronic ”stage.” After that, according to the brother of Nukenova Aytbek Amangeldy, Saltanat informed the relatives that she finally decided to part with her husband and even transported things to a rented apartment.

“On October 26, 2023, my mother threw me photos of the rite of a certain (Muslim wedding ceremony) Saltanate in the main mosque of Astana. I was shocked by this news, and my mother was surprised that Saltanat went again and did a certain with Kuandyk, ”said Aitbek.

Parents Saltanate saw her alive last time on November 4 or 5. Then Kuandyk invited relatives to a family dinner in a restaurant.

Lawsuit over Bishimbaev

On November 9, 2023, Bishimbaev was detained on suspicion of the murder of his wife, he was arrested on November 11, later the term of detention was extended several times. The ex-minister is accused of torture and murder, perfect with particular cruelty.

His relative and director of Gastroenter Bakytzhan Baizhanov is accused of covering a particularly serious crime and reporting a serious crime. In particular, Bishimbaev, after the scandal with Nukenova, called Baizhanov to the restaurant to dissolve the staff and delete the video from the surveillance cameras.

According to the prosecutor, Baizhanov arrived and saw Nukenov’s half -destroyed “with multiple injuries of the face and other visible parts of the body”, “emitting unnatural wheezing”.

“In addition, Baizhanov noticed the mess inside the specified VIP room number one, that is, damage to the door and broken dishes, human blood and torn hair, and realized that Bishimbaev once again beat Nukenov. Then, from hourly in the afternoon until seven in the evening, Baizhanov, for various reasons, repeatedly went into the VIP room number one, where Nukenova was lying, ”the representative of the prosecution said .

According to her, Bishimbaev saw that the girl was lying motionless and did not show signs of life, but did not report her death to law enforcement agencies.

The version of the events

At one of the court sessions, Bishimbaev said that, in his opinion, occurred on the day of the death of Nukenova. The man smiled and even laughed. According to the lawyer, he did this, as he recalled "those happy moments of life that they survived together."

Bishimbaev said that after the concert he and his wife drank a lot of alcohol and went to the restaurant. There, she allegedly “tried to hurt him and get out of herself, took off the pendant that he gave, and tried to throw it out, began to remove earrings, a wedding ring, a watch, a bracelet and threw everything into the toilet.”

“I did not know what to do, and went towards the bar, where I took another bottle of alcohol. The Malyars worked, I asked them if there was a lighter. Because the situation was stressful, I wanted to smoke. They said no. I went into the VIP, I wanted to open the toilet door, I look - it closed from the inside. From there, some kind of noise was heard, screams, as if blows against the wall, a mat. I began to knock on the door, and then beat with fists, then hit with a tripod and a hole appeared. Then the Saltanate opened the door.

She began to scream at me, I also screamed obscenities. She rushed at me, tore my shirt. I pushed her, she hit the wall.

When she rushed once again, I also broke her shirt. She got angry, began to take off his shirt - this clothing was just bought before the concert. When she pulled her pants down, I got angry and let her go - I got a counterweight, she thought that I would hold it and pulled it, and I let go, her pants flew off, she lost her balance, began to fall towards the toilet, she first flew over the wall and faced her toilet. The blow was very strong. She bounced from the toilet and fell to the floor. I was taken aback. She was 10-15 seconds next to the toilet, ”Bishimbaev said.

After that, the girl, according to him, tried to get up, but fell and "again hit the tiled floor with her face," "fought knees on the floor, on the wall." Soon she lay on the sofa, and the accused himself went out for water, and then fell asleep next to him. When he woke up the next morning, the Saltanate slept and snored, the man convinced the man. Then Baizhanov arrived, supposedly to take a couple home. Bishimbaev wrapped a girl in a blanket so that another man would not see her naked. According to him, the girl "held another neck, moved her hands."

“We raised her hands - with Baizhanov we raised her hands, she moved, she had reflexes, she held her neck, her snoring disappeared, as if she woke up. We went five to six meters to the VIP door. I thought now she would disperse, take steps, she moved her legs, and that she would wake up, but this did not happen. She was as if a drunken, tired man, a dead man who could not wake up, but mumbles something. He tried to wake her up - she did not wake up, but she had a snoring. I thought: snoring passed, a deep dream passed, she wakes up.

I let go of Bakytzhan and said: “Probably, she will wake up already, I will write you how to wake up and you will take us home. I began to wake the Saltanate and noticed that her face became cool, I began to feel her cheeks, they became cool, I realized that the temperature had changed, began to feel the body, it was the same. I began to feel the pulse, did not find it. I thought, maybe I'm drunk, I can’t find a pulse. I called Bakytzhan, I say, maybe you will find? But he also says: "I can't find it." I told him: "Call an ambulance." He began to call an ambulance.

The ambulance arrived and began. They began to do resuscitation measures. I was just lost and went to the kitchen, took the knife, I had only one thought: it would be better if I kill myself. Then the police arrived. Here are all the circumstances ",

- summed up Bishimbaev.

When a video from surveillance cameras was shown in the courtroom, which clearly shows how a man beat his wife, he did not change his testimony. At a certain moment, the lawyers of the defendant asked to pay attention to the fact that Bishimbaev beat the Saltanate with his palm, and she had already hit her head against the wall herself.

“I only beat my palm, gave slap in the face,” the accused made excuses .

#Zasaltanate

The brutal murder of Nukenova shocked society in Kazakhstan. In November 2023, women launched an action in social networks demanding to tighten the punishment and draw attention to the problem of domestic violence. In particular, the girls published on social networks photographs with makeup imitating traces of beatings, and told stories from personal experience under the hashtags: #Changizakacacon, #Stopnasil, #Nemolchi, #Tight Bather.

After the start of judicial actions and the publication of the testimony of Bishimbaev, Kazakhstani launched a new flash mob. They were outraged by the words of the accused and his lawyers that the deceased allegedly drank wine and led a rampant lifestyle.

“Bishimbaev’s lawyers are trying to convict the murdered Saltanate. What? That she could drink a glass of wine or any drink? Support Aitbek. Lay your photos with a glass with the inscription: "If you see me with a glass of wine, this does not mean that you can kill me!" "

- called the head of the Nemolchi.kz Foundation Dina Tansar.

On April 4, the initiative group launched the action “Write a letter to parliament” under the hashtag #consultanate for the criminalization of violence and the adoption of a bill to ensure the rights of women and the security of children.

Now the jury court in Astana continues to consider the murder of Nukenova. The sentence date is still unknown.