Activist on Trial for Extortion Testifies in Court

The main trial in the case involving activists Damir Kusheyev and Ruslan Karimov is ongoing in Almaty. Along with two businessmen, Kurmangazy Aitmukanov and Andrey Belyansky, they are charged under Part 4 of Article 194 of the Criminal Code of Kazakhstan: “Extortion on an especially large scale by a group of persons by prior conspiracy.”

Investigators claim the defendants blackmailed the alleged victim, Bakhtiyar Blayev, using a compromising video and demanded 30.5 million tenge to keep it quiet. The defendants deny all charges, Orda.kz reports.

Kusheyev asked journalists not to call him a blogger, saying he finds the term offensive. He identifies himself only as an activist who promotes domestic tourism in Kazakhstan and fights corruption. In court, he claimed he was set up and that the case is retaliation for his civic activism.

He also described how, during the eight months of the investigation, police allegedly put moral and psychological pressure on his family, co-defendants, and media figures they contacted for coverage.

For example, according to Kusheyev, his friend and co-defendant Ruslan Karimov was deliberately placed in the same cell as an HIV-positive prisoner, which is prohibited by internal regulations of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

The third defendant, Kurmangazy Aitmukanov, as well as defense witnesses, were allegedly pressured by police to testify against Kusheyev to collect new evidence.

Testimony of Prosecution Witnesses

It then emerged that prosecution witness Kudaibergen Blayev, father of Bakhtiyar Blayev, could also not attend the hearing for a valid reason.

The prosecutor read his statement aloud. On the morning of January 20, 2025, Kudaibergen felt ill. His younger son, Daniyar, stayed home with him, while his older son, Bakhtiyar, went to the pharmacy.

Around 1:00 p.m., Bakhtiyar called Daniyar and asked him to come urgently because Kurmangazy Aitmukanov was threatening him. Despite my heart problems, I decided to go with my youngest son. We drove to a gas station and saw Bakhtiyar standing next to his car, with several people nearby. Three unknown cars were blocking the exit. As we approached, we saw Aitmukanov; I didn’t know the other two. Later, I learned their names — Damir and Ruslan.

According to Blayev Sr.’s testimony, the defendant, Aitmukanov, demanded that he, as the head of J.I.T Groupconstruction, withdraw his efforts to recover a debt from the company “KM 04–24,” which belonged to Aitmukanov (the indictment states the company was registered to the defendant’s ex-wife — ed.). A private judicial enforcement officer had frozen the debtor’s accounts, and Kudaibergen Blayev was expected to secure their unfreezing and drop his financial claims totaling 20,541,933 tenge.

During the conversation, it became clear to me that Aitmukanov had incriminating material on Bakhtiyar, so he called me. It was obvious he was pressuring my son, and my son was scared. I couldn’t resist because I was unwell. Aitmukanov ordered Daniyar and me to go home and bring him the original documents to sign off on his demands. Bakhtiyar was to stay and wait for us. As I was getting into the car, I saw Aitmukanov and his two associates (Kusheyev and Karimov — Ed.) get into two cars and leave the gas station. My younger son and I drove home, then caught up with them near the mosque.

According to the witness, the parties later met near the Power Plant, at the office of a private judicial enforcement officer. Aitmukanov was unable to reverse the enforcement proceedings. This allegedly angered Ruslan Karimov, whom Blayev Sr. mistook for Aitmukanov’s representative.

When we went outside, Ruslan became more aggressive. He demanded all issues be resolved immediately. However, he then left with Damir. Then I learned that a relative of Aitmukanov had arrived, also wanting to resolve the matter quickly, citing other debtors. I mean the Belyanskys. Since it was already late, we decided to postpone everything until the next day.

According to the case file, the person who arrived was Aitmukanov’s brother-in-law. He insisted that the Blayevs forgive the debt owed by Andrey Belyansky’s wife, Lyudmila. She owned the sole proprietorship L-Spetstekhnika, which, under its contract, had defaulted on its obligations to the company owned by Blayev Sr. The court had also ordered her to pay 1,545,000 tenge.

According to the prosecution, the four defendants extorted a total of 30,541,933 tenge from the alleged victim, Bakhtiyar Blayev. This amount included not only the principal debt but also compensation for moral damages.

To clarify the long-running dispute between entrepreneurs, the court summoned witness Yermek Mukushev. He is the CEO of Samruk LLP and the managing director of Nurly Dala. In 2021, Mukushev acted as the general contractor for two construction and landscaping projects. His subcontractors were Bakhtiyar Blayev, Andrey Belyansky, and Kurmangazy Aitmukanov. 

I had a contract with Bakhtiyar Blayev, head of J.I.T. LLP. He was engaged in water supply and gas line installation at the Almaly site. Aitmukanov came to me with a complaint against Blayev, claiming he had underpaid him. I explained to Aitmukanov how such matters are handled. A contract must be signed, with rates set for a specific volume of work. I asked the surveyor to draw a diagram of the area where Blayev and Aitmukanov were working. The surveyor marked the site in different colors, indicating the sidewalk, asphalt, and playgrounds. Blayev and Aitmukanov were supposed to divide the scope of the upcoming work and the corresponding prices between themselves, Mukushev said.

The witness did not go into detail about the Almaly project or the nature of the conflict between the victim and the defendant.

He noted that his first conversation with Aitmukanov was unproductive because the latter was confrontational.

We had a bit of an argument. Aitmukanov showed me some photos and videos, saying he would take them to my management. I didn’t look at what he showed. From his words, I understand that he recorded Blayev and the foremen over issues with the quality of work. Aitmukanov said he was suing Blayev over money and that the Department of Economic Investigation in Almaty was handling the case. He asked me to come to the investigator and confirm something. I told him plainly that I knew nothing about his dealings or conflict with Blayev, so I had nothing to confirm to the Department of Economic Investigation.

According to the witness, Aitmukanov allegedly boasted that other executives had been fired in the past because of his compromising videos.

Mukushev said he had no idea what those recordings contained or who had lost their jobs.

I told him his recordings would have no influence on me, so there was no point continuing the conversation in that tone. From our side, everything was in order: whoever earned money was paid. I later testified to the investigator from the Department of Economic Investigation. I told him only what I had personally seen, heard, and knew. 

The witness said his company eventually terminated the contract with the contractor J.I.T Groupconstruction because of poor-quality work. As the general contractor, he ended up suffering losses and had to hire another company to redo the defective work.

The prosecutor asked him about the contractor’s explanation and why he had rejected it.

J.I.T cited various reasons, but as the general contractor, we weren’t particularly concerned, because those reasons had to be documented and approved by the design organization. If they weren’t, then the reasons simply weren’t accepted.

Kurmangazy Aitmukanov noted that Mukushev had previously testified remotely at the Almaly District Court in Almaty.

At that time, he claimed that Bakhtiyar Blayev had borrowed 15 million tenge from him and even submitted a receipt. Aitmukanov asked Mukushev what kind of relationship he had with Blayev — professional or personal — and whether Blayev had repaid him.

Blayev took the money to develop his business and paid me back. Our relationship was strictly professional. After the contract was terminated, I had no further dealings with him. He’s younger than me, so we have no common interests,  Mukushev said.

The witness declined to comment on the defendant, Belyansky, as he barely knew him. He mentioned only that in 2021, he saw specialized equipment in Almaly belonging to the defendant’s company and recalled that Belyansky was involved in clearing access roads at the construction site.

Settling Scores?

When it was Damir Kusheyev’s turn to speak, he began by saying he does not consider himself a blogger — even though he has tens of thousands of followers on social media. He said he always introduces himself as a civic activist.

The defendant then turned his anger on law enforcement, accusing officers of incompetence and bias during the investigation. The first to come under fire was the police unit responsible for public relations.

The Almaty Police Department's press service sent out releases saying that ‘bloggers’ — meaning Karimov and me—were detained on suspicion of extortion. They even claimed we were caught red-handed (with 10 million tenge — Ed.). Esteemed court and jurors! On January 22, 2025, I was detained inside a heavy equipment store, and Karimov was detained near the city administration building. We were not at the law firm where Aitmukanov was detained. We did not have the money we supposedly extorted. So why are we being shamed nationwide?! We are going to sue the police department!

His lawyer then asked whether pressure had been exerted on him, his acquaintances, and the other defendants during the investigation. Kusheyev said it had.

All the media personalities I know, who share my views as a public figure, were pressured. There are screenshots of messages between media figures and my wife, Akmeir, in which she asks them to support coverage of my case. They openly said that police officers called or visited them with threats. ‘If you interfere, you’ll be charged under the same article,’ they were told. That means they were threatened with being prosecuted for extortion.

Kusheyev remarked sarcastically that he and the other defendants were “lucky.”

If they had been using illegal substances, he said, the police could have planted drugs on them during the arrest to charge them not only with extortion but also with drug trafficking.

He then told the court and jury how pressure was exerted on the defendant Karimov during the investigation.

They tried to recruit him. This is reflected in the fourth volume of the case, where it says Karimov cooperated with the investigation and testified against me. How do I explain this? Apparently, someone summoned Karimov and demanded he rat me out. Like, ‘Kusheyev will go to jail and you’ll walk free.’ Maybe Karimov gave them a couple of examples. The investigators then organized an entire expedition and traveled to East Kazakhstan, questioning a local council member, my sponsors, and friends. But none of them pointed a finger at me.

It’s worth noting that in 2023, Kusheyev completed a cross-country bike trip. Residents of Zaysan and Kurchum in East Kazakhstan complained to him about the stalled construction of a bridge across the Bukhtarma Reservoir.

The project was supposed to connect the two banks and save locals from a 300-kilometer detour.

Despite a massive budget allocation, the bridge had become a never-ending construction site. Kusheyev raised the issue in a video, and soon after, the problem was resolved. The bridge was officially opened in the Kurchum District on October 25, 2024, Republic Day.

According to Kusheyev, law enforcement in Almaty then began checking whether he had demanded money for his involvement.

The investigative team keeps coming back and again demands that Karimov testify against me. Otherwise, they threatened to put him in a cell with the ‘debased.' I ask the state prosecutors to pay attention to my testimony that pressure was put on my so-called accomplices. Karimov was threatened with being placed in a cell with the '‘debased.' For what purpose? To force him to testify against me — otherwise, he himself would have been subjected to violence in the cell.

Kusheyev pointed out that the law prohibits holding healthy suspects in the same cell as those with HIV, tuberculosis, and similar conditions.

But police, he claimed, deliberately placed Ruslan Karimov in a cell with an infected prisoner.

Ruslan was kept for four months in a cell with an HIV-positive inmate, and that man tried to provoke him into a fight so that blood would be spilled. Let the state prosecutors investigate this. Your Honor and members of the jury, just look at him — this half-man — what can you expect from him? He weighs less than 50 kilos! The second one is limping, the third is downright old. I’m the chubby one — what kind of extortionists are we supposed to be?

By "half-man," he was referring to Ruslan Karimov because of his thin build. "The limping one" was Kurmangazy Aitmukanov, who has coxarthrosis, and "the old one" was Andrey Belyansky. Kusheyev jokingly described himself as the “chubby guy” due to his weight, and the remark amused the courtroom.

Unlike the other two defendants, the activists allowed themselves to be photographed.

Kusheyev then claimed that, according to Aitmukanov, he too was pressured to testify against him. He also described how police allegedly tried to intimidate other defense witnesses.

In 2024, businessmen from Taldykorgan gave me a motorcycle worth 10 million tenge for my cross-country ride. Last fall, I traveled everywhere promoting tourist destinations. Then the police went after these sponsors — they tried to push them into filing complaints against me, but my friends and sponsors refused. They showed my sponsorship requests and their responses. There was no extortion!

Kusheyev questioned why investigators were still trying to dig up new elements to the case and probe his finances if his guilt in the alleged extortion of businessman Bakhtiyar Blayev had supposedly already been proven. In his view, the prosecution relies solely on the victim’s testimony.

He reminded jurors that investigators froze his wife Akmeir’s social welfare accounts — the only source of income for their family of five young children while he was in pretrial detention. The accounts were unfrozen three months later, but she was questioned as a witness and is now barred from serving as his public defender.

But the president said social benefit accounts can’t be frozen because children depend on them. My car was seized and impounded. My wife isn’t in the courtroom, while the other defendants’ wives are here!

Kusheyev stressed that he holds no personal grudge against the investigator, claiming the officer was forced to carry out the case the way he did.

During the investigation, my lawyers asked to change my detention to house arrest. The investigator didn’t object — he saw I hadn’t committed a crime. When we went to review the case files, he flat-out told us that after every media post featuring my wife’s comments, he was reprimanded by the police department and the city prosecutor’s office. He was pressured to push our case to trial as fast as possible. In the end — forgive the expression — a leaky case made it to court. And out of the materials, eight volumes were just my lawyers’ motions. There were 90 motions in total! 

Kusheyev also explained the 20 million tenge check found on him during a search.

He said it was sponsorship money for his upcoming project promoting domestic tourism and cycling, and motorcycle culture in Kazakhstan.

On January 22, 2025, at 4 p.m., my sponsor gave me 20 million tenge. I was thrilled and went to the store. I picked out an ATV for 16 million. I was going to spend the remaining four million on equipment, travel costs, and lodging. 

He said he was in the store when Aitmukanov called him about some video, but he barely listened, being focused on preparations for the rally. He said he was stunned when special forces and investigators arrived and detained him.

I stand before you, honorable court and jurors, in a fabricated case. You’ve probably already realized this is Blayev’s revenge against Kurmangazy Aitmukanov. Let the prosecutors prove that I took money, that I made threats, or that I demanded an agreement in exchange for deleting a video. I never gave Aitmukanov permission to use my name as a social activist or blogger. No one can force me to post a video and then delete it. I decide what, when, and how I publish. And I won’t delete that video on principle — because when people see someone publish something and then erase it, they lose trust!

In the next part, we’ll cover Kusheyev’s testimony on the two charges against him, how he responded to questions from prosecutors and the victim’s lawyer, and what his wife, Akmeir, said in his defense.

Original Author: Zhanar Kusanova