ALMATY, Kazakhstan -- The high-profile trial of a suspect allegedly involved in the killing of a 4-year-old child during unrest in Kazakhstan last year that claimed at least 238 lives has started in the Central Asian nation's largest city, Almaty.
Aikorkem Meldekhan was shot dead in Almaty -- most likely by military personnel according to official investigations -- when she and other members of her family were in a car on their way to a grocery store on January 7, 2022. The vehicle was sprayed with at least 20 bullets, also wounding Aikorkem's 15-year-old sister. A forensic investigation concluded that the bullets were shot from firearms used by the military.
The defendant in the case, a military serviceman, Aidos Zhuman, pleaded not guilty to the charge of abuse of power with the use of firearms that led to the death of a child, as the trial started on July 26 at a military court.
If found guilty, Zhuman may face up to seven years in prison.
Lawyers of Meldekhan's family have insisted that the case should be sent back for additional investigation and that the charge be changed from abuse of power to murder of a minor and attempted murder. They also want other military personnel involved in the deadly shooting brought to justice.
The girl's family also requested that probes be launched against investigators and prosecutors who initially closed the case.
Hundreds of people are believed to have been killed by Kazakh security forces during a brutal crackdown on anti-government protesters in January 2022.
WATCH: RFE/RL reports on the unrest in Kazakhstan in January 2022
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What's Behind The State Of Emergency And Protests Erupting Across Kazakhstan?
With the country in the throes of unrest, President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev gave police and military troops the controversial order to "shoot to kill without warning." He justified the order by saying "20,000 extremists trained in foreign terrorist camps" had seized Almaty airport and other objects. No evidence of foreign-trained demonstrators was ever presented.
The order sparked an outcry and Aikorkem's picture turned into an image symbolizing the victims of the crackdown, many of whom were killed -- some by torture -- by police, security forces, and military personnel, including troops of the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization, whom Toqaev invited into the country "to restore law and order."
In May 2022, a mural with Aikorkem's face and the question: "Sirs, which of you shot me?"appeared on a building in central Almaty, but officials quickly painted over it.
Meanwhile, the Committee of National Security has pressured Aikorkem's father, Aidos Meldekhan, to refrain from talking to journalists or from making public statements about his family's ordeal. Fearing for the safety of his family, Meldekhan says he sent them to an unspecified country.
Kazakh authorities have not identified all victims of the deadly developments from last year's protests, which many in Kazakhstan now call Qandy Qantar (Bloody January).
Kazakh authorities have said that 238 people were killed across the country during the unrest, including six people tortured to death while in police custody.
Human rights groups have demanded a thorough international investigation of the violence, providing evidence proving that peaceful demonstrators and others who had nothing to do with the protests were among those killed by law enforcement and military personnel.
Kazakh officials have rejected calls for international investigation.