On May 13 in Astana, judge Aizhan Kulbayeva announced the verdict for Kuandyk Bishimbayev, accused of the particularly cruel murder of his wife, Saltanat Nukenova.
Bishimbayev was sentenced to 24 years of imprisonment in a maximum-security penal colony. Judge Aizhan Kulbayeva stated, "The court found Kuandyk Bishimbayev guilty of committing criminal offenses under Article 110, Part 2, Section 1 and Article 99, Part 2, Section 5 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan, and sentenced him to 7 years of imprisonment under Article 110, Part 2, Section 1 and 20 years of imprisonment under Article 99, Part 2, Section 5. By partially combining the punishments for the crimes, a final sentence of 24 years of imprisonment was imposed."
Aizhan Kulbayeva mentioned that the guilt of the defendants was fully proven. The jury delivered their verdict regarding Kuandyk Bishimbayev, declaring him guilty. The question of the punishment's duration was also decided by the jury and the judge through an open vote, with the majority in agreement. According to the verdict and sentence, the guilt of the defendants was fully established. The testimony of the victim, witnesses, audio-video materials, expert opinions, and other materials from the criminal case examined during the trial were taken into account by the jury.
According to the state prosecutors, after the verdict comes into force, Bishimbayev will serve his sentence in a maximum-security facility, as he had previously served a real term of imprisonment.
On November 9, 2023, it was reported that former Minister of National Economy Kuandyk Bishimbayev was detained on suspicion of killing his wife. The tragedy occurred at the Bau restaurant in the capital.
On March 11, during preliminary hearings, the prosecutor voiced the investigation's version, followed by Kuandyk Bishimbayev presenting his position. The main trial began on March 27.
On May 2, the court announced the conclusion of the judicial investigation and the transition to the arguments from both sides.
On May 6, the defendants Bishimbayev and Baizhanov made their final statements in court.
On May 13, judge Aizhan Kulbayeva presented 13 questions to the jury.
