Kazakhstan's former national economy minister Kuandyk Bishimbayev has been sentenced to 24 years in prison, QazMonitor reports.
The court found Kuandyk Bishimbayev guilty of committing offenses under Article 110, p. 2, par. 1 (torment) and Article 99, p. 2, par. 5 (murder) of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
Under part 4 of Article 58 of the Criminal Code, on the aggregation of crimes by partial addition of punishments, Bishimbayev has been appointed to 24 years of imprisonment. The actions of Bishimbayev are recognized, according to Article 14, p. 2, par, 2 of the Criminal Code, as dangerous recidivism of crime. Bishimbayev will serve his sentence in an institution of the penal system of maximum security.
Bakhytzhan Baizhanov, a relative of the former minister, was found guilty under Article 432 (concealment of a crime).
Details: On March 11, preliminary hearings commenced in Astana regarding the case of ex-minister of National Economy Kuandyk Bishimbayev, who stands accused of the murder of his common-law wife, Saltanat Nukenova. Judge Aizhan Kulbayeva has been presiding over the hearings.
Bishimbayev faced charges under two articles of the Criminal Code:
Article 99, p. 2, par. 5 (murder - the unlawful and intentional infliction of death upon another person, committed with particular cruelty)
Article 110, p. 2, par. 1 (infliction of physical or mental suffering by systematic bodily blows or by other violent acts, perpetrated against a person who is financially dependent on the perpetrator).
On March 12, it was revealed that the case of the former head of the Ministry of National Economy was to be considered by a jury.
The crime: On November 9, the police detained Kazakhstan’s ex-minister of National Economy Kuandyk Bishimbayev on suspicion of murdering his wife Saltanat Nukenova in one of the restaurants in Astana. According to the police, Nukenova succumbed to injuries sustained from beatings.
