ASTANA -- Kazakhstan's former Economy Minister Quandyq Bishimbaev reiterated his not guilty plea to all charges as his trial by jury over his wife's death in November kicked off in Astana on March 27.
Bishimbaev is charged with torture, murder with extreme violence, and repeatedly committing serious crimes. Bishimbaev's cousin Baqytzhan Baizhanov is his co-defendant in the high-profile case. Baizhanov is charged with failure to report a crime in process.
Judge Aizhan Kulbaeva warned journalists that filming or taking pictures of the jury members are banned.
Prosecutor Aizhan Aimaghanova introduced the jury to the charges against Bishimbaev, accusing him of viciously beating his wife, Saltanat Nukenova, for hours in a restaurant that belonged to a relative. The body of the 31-year-old Nukenova was later found in the restaurant. Bishimbaev faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
The case has attracted nationwide attention amid growing outrage over domestic violence in Kazakhstan, where 1 -in-6 women say they have faced some form of physical violence at the hands of their male partner.
Domestic violence has historically gone unpunished in the Central Asian nation, where it is not considered a stand-alone criminal offense. The Kazakh parliament has been dragging its feet for years on a bill that would criminalize domestic violence. Women account for about one-quarter of Kazakh lawmakers.
Amid the public outcry over the brutal death of Nukenova, Kazakh President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev publicly called on the Interior Ministry to take the case under its "special control."
The 43-year-old Bishimbaev served as economy minister from May 2016 to late December the same year. Before that, he occupied different managerial posts in government agencies.
In 2018, Bishimbaev and 22 others faced a high-profile corruption trial that ended with Bishimbaev’s conviction on charges of bribery and embezzlement while leading a state-controlled holding company.
A court in Astana sentenced him to 10 years in prison, but Bishimbaev, who comes from an influential family, was granted an early release through a mass amnesty issued by the government. He had served only 18 months of his term.
The Interior Ministry said earlier that more than 100,000 cases of domestic violence are officially registered each year, though the number of unregistered cases, analysts say, is likely much larger.
International rights watchdogs have urged Kazakh officials to curb the spreading of domestic violence for years.
According to the United Nation's experts, about 400 women die in Kazakhstan as a result of domestic violence every year.