Defense Lawyer Responds to Allegations in Aknar Gulistan Case, Presents Alternative Version

In Almaty, following the death of 22-year-old Aknar Gulistan, who fell from the seventh floor of the Amir residential complex, her relatives held a press conference accusing the police of negligence. 

They expressed dissatisfaction: nine months after the tragedy, two girls allegedly involved in the incident remain witnesses.

On 23 May, Zhandos Palmanov, the lawyer representing one of them, Didar Mukiyat, held a press conference, stating that the defense has its own version of events, Orda.kz reports.

Didar Mukiyat, a Chinese citizen and KIMEP graduate, did not attend the press conference. Only her lawyer answered journalists’ questions, noting that he had recently taken on the case and could not yet respond in detail.

According to Palmanov, Aknar had invited the two over that night for beer. Regarding the video that allegedly shows Aknar being subject to violence, the lawyer stated that it is incomplete and, in his view, “the two young women, on the contrary, tried to calm her down and called for restraint.”

He added that public pressure intensified on Mukiyat after the video was circulated online. The defense presented other footage, which, according to Palmanov, demonstrates his client’s innocence.

One video allegedly shows Aknar trying to jump out of the window previously, with Didar’s brother trying to stop her. The people in the video are speaking Chinese.

Palmanov stated that the video published online is “redacted, showing only the necessary moments for the victims,” and does not reflect the full events of the night. When asked why Aknar came to the apartment and how the quarrel began, he said:

The three of them had previously been together at a meeting, after which they took the remaining food, beer and drinks with them. The idea to rent an apartment and be there came from Aknar herself. As for the conflict — after drinking alcohol, Aknar began to say that her boyfriend was allegedly cheating on her, and wanted to go to that young woman at night and sort things out. The young women tried to dissuade her, saying that in such a state it is impossible to go anywhere. She also talked about debts, was depressed, banged her head against the wall, pulled out her hair. The young women tried to calm her down. 

Earlier, Aknar’s mother, Gulistan Khamitova, said her daughter had no debts or financial difficulties and cited a yearly account turnover of 36 million tenge.

Palmanov continued:

The video published online does not give the full picture. In the video I showed today, you can see how Aknar, who had been drinking, starts reading suras from the Quran, and she starts shaking. Didar and the second young woman, Rano, tried to bring her to her senses. My client told her that it was wrong to behave like that, and that she shouldn’t go anywhere at night. At first, they tried to calm her down. Then a fight broke out between the young women, Didar tried to separate them. When that didn’t work, she got scared and locked herself in the toilet. At that time, the young women continued to fight in another room. That’s when Didar called an ambulance and sent messages to her family with wording like ‘she’s being killed, beaten.’ That’s why she didn’t see what happened. 

At the previous press conference, Aknar's mother claimed no alcohol was found in her daughter’s body. The affected party's lawyer, Inga Imanbay, provided a forensic medical report confirming this.

Palmanov responded that a video proves the young women had been drinking beer, adding, "beer leaves the body in four to five hours."

When Orda.kz asked how to explain Aknar’s injuries — torn hair, a broken nose and arm, and torn nails — if the young women were allegedly only trying to calm her, the lawyer replied:

When asked whether it was true that both the young women withdrew 7–8 million tenge from a bank account the morning after the incident, Palmanov denied it.

Regarding the October 24, 2024, request from lawyer Inga Imanbay to change the young women’s status from witnesses to suspects, Palmanov said:

He also commented on surveillance footage showing a silhouette on the floor where Aknar fell, stating that a full analysis of the footage is required.

When asked if Aknar transferred one million tenge to Didar Mukiyat before the incident, Palmanov responded that he had no knowledge of this.

The second young woman, Rano, is also a KIMEP graduate. Journalists asked why Didar Mukiyat did not attend the press conference. According to the lawyer, she chose not to appear due to public pressure following the leaked video.

Earlier, Aknar’s mother, Gulistan Khamit, stated that the investigation was stalled and that police were not adding evidence collected by the family to the case. She recently appealed directly to President Qasym-Jomart Toqayev.

Original Author: Perizat Zharylkasyn