In the criminal court of Astana today, on May 4, 2024, the debates on the case of former minister Kuandyk Bishimbayev with the participation of jurors have concluded. The debates will continue without them, at which point the prosecution's position on the qualification of the defendants' actions and the terms of imprisonment will be announced.
The debates began on May 2 and lasted a total of three days. As Judge Aizhan Kulbayeva had previously stated, in the first part of the debates, the parties presented arguments on the proven or unproven guilt of the defendants.
During his statement, the defendant Bakytzhan Baiyzhanov declared that he did not intend to conceal the traces of the crime. He stated, "I am accused of allegedly wanting to hide the traces of the crime, but the fact is - if I wanted to do that, I would have done it myself, but I entrusted others... I told everything, didn't hide anything, if necessary and possible, I am ready to take a lie detector test. The rest is in your hands. I will accept any decision."
The lawyer for the victim in the murder case, Saltanat Nukenova, Igor Vranchov, responded to the defense's arguments that Bishimbayev had no motive to kill Nukenova. He mentioned, "The main motive for this murder was jealousy, pathological jealousy, obsessive jealousy, and in psychiatry, this is called 'delusional jealousy', there is a separate 'Othello Syndrome', these are all qualities that precisely belong to Bishimbayev... A simple example: why did Chikatilo kill? He had his reasons that cannot be explained by a sane mind. The man wanted to kill. Right? And here is the same situation, but he had jealousy, a pathological condition as a result of this jealousy, which bred hatred and made him humiliate and torment. He himself said that he filmed (video on his phone. - Ed.) to humiliate Nukenova."
However, Bishimbayev's lawyer, Leila Ramazanova, objected to this statement. She said, "Chikatilo himself confessed to killing and eating 55 people. Bishimbayev did not dismember, kill, or rape multiple victims, he also did not eat the victims, so the comparison with Chikatilo is excessive."
It is worth noting that the second part of the debates will proceed according to the procedure, but without the participation of jurors. Earlier, Judge Aizhan Kulbayeva mentioned that it will also consist of speeches by the state prosecutor, defense lawyers, defendants, the victim, and their representatives. They will present their positions on the qualification of the defendants' actions and the determination of punishment.
Prior to this, the court announced the completion of the judicial investigation and the transition to the parties' debates. Prosecutor Aizhan Aimaghanova stated the prosecution's position. Later, Aitbek Amangeldey, the brother of Saltanat Nukenova, addressed the jurors and requested justice.
Furthermore, the lawyer for the victims, Zhanna Urazbakhova, spoke in court and stated that the guilt of Bishimbayev and Baiyzhanov in the committed crime is fully proven by the evidence presented by the prosecution. The same opinion is held by the lawyer Damir Ishmametov.
Leila Ramazanova voiced the defense's position. The lawyer Erlan Gazymzhanov also expressed his views during the debates. He believes that Kuandyk Bishimbayev had no benefit in killing Saltanat Nukenova. The mother of the defendant, Almira Nurlibekova, apologized to the relatives of Saltanat Nukenova while speaking in court.
On May 3, Kuandyk Bishimbayev voiced his position during the debates.
