In a landmark domestic violence case in Kazakhstan, Kuandyk Bishimbayev, a former government minister, received a 24-year prison sentence after being found guilty of beating his wife to death.
A jury delivered the verdict in an Astana court on May 13, during a hearing viewed by citizens nationwide via a live broadcast on YouTube. In addition to a lengthy prison term, Bishimbayev was ordered to pay court costs, estimated at over $5,000.
Bishimbayev had faced a potential life term after being found guilty of “murder committed with particular cruelty” and “torture.” One of Bishimbayev’s relatives, Bakhytzhan Baizhanov, received a 4-year sentence as an accessory to murder.
Bishimbayev, 44, was arrested in November in Astana after police discovered the dead body of his common-law wife, Saltanat Nukenova, 31, with signs of having suffered a severe beating. The day before, the couple spent the night in a restaurant owned by Bishimbayev. Video from a surveillance camera documented the crime.
The case riveted the nation. The trial was widely seen as a test case for the justice system in Kazakhstan: many citizens wondered whether justice would be served, or whether a former official would use his influence to escape punishment. Others saw it as a gauge of the government’s commitment to combating domestic violence.
Although the trial ended with a conviction, some observers expressed disappointment with the punishment. Zhanar Sekerbayeva, head of the Almaty-based women's rights organization Feminita, contended that Bishimbayev deserved a life sentence.
“Women continue to be beaten and killed in the regions today,” Sekerbayeva told Eurasianet. “We need to punish domestic violence as severely as possible so that domestic tyrants finally realize that they are committing a terrible crime.”
In April, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev signed amendments that tighten penalties for domestic violence. But Sekerbayeva is among those activists who argue that the legislative framework needs improvement.
“There are still many people like Bishimbayev in the country, and we must declare an uncompromising war on them,” she said.
