Kazakh National Detained in Bulgaria Has History of Forged Documents and Legal Troubles

In early July, Kazakh citizen Yerzhan Niyazov was placed under indefinite detention in the Bulgarian city of Haskovo. He had been declared internationally wanted by Kazakhstan and was arrested in Bulgaria for attempting to leave the country using a fake passport.

As Orda.kz has learned, this isn’t Niyazov’s first brush with the law.

Bulgarian media covering his arrest reported that Niyazov was wanted for illegal possession of weapons, participation in mass riots, and violence against government officials.

While the charges suggested a possible connection to the Qantar events, this wasn’t explicitly stated.

Orda.kz submitted an official inquiry to the Prosecutor General’s Office of Kazakhstan, and the response confirmed the assumption:

Niyazov's actions are qualified under Article 272, Part 2, and Article 287, Part 4 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The charges relate to illegal actions committed in January 2022.

Notably, Niyazov is not accused of using force against government officials. Part 2 of Article 272 refers to participating in mass riots, which carries a maximum sentence of five years.

Part 4 of Article 287 deals with the “illegal acquisition, transfer, sale, storage, transportation or carrying of firearms (excluding smoothbore hunting weapons), ammunition, explosives or explosive devices, committed by a group of persons by prior agreement or on a repeated basis,” which carries a potential prison term of up to eight years.

According to the Prosecutor General’s Office, Niyazov was added to the wanted list on February 25, 2022, though the formal warrant wasn’t issued until March 7, 2022.

Niyazov denies any involvement in the Qantar unrest and claims the charges are fabricated. He says he would be in danger if extradited to Kazakhstan.

His lawyer states that Niyazov has an alibi — he was allegedly in Kyiv at the time, undergoing cancer treatment. His legal team claims to have documentation to prove this, which they may present during the appeals process.

As previously reported, Niyazov was detained in Bulgaria at Varna Airport while attempting to fly out using a fake Polish passport. But as Orda.kz discovered, this isn’t the first time he’s been linked to forged documents.

The outlet obtained a photo of a driver’s license issued in the name of Yerzhan Bakytzhanovich Niyazov.

The birth year on the license matches the information in the wanted notice, and the license number corresponds to a decision issued by the Almaty Specialized Interdistrict Administrative Court on May 8, 2019.

The case at that time involved fake license plates on a vehicle Niyazov was driving.

On April 28, 2019, at 1:00 p.m. in Almaty, driver Niyazov Ye. B. was operating a BMW 750 along Al-Farabi Avenue, heading east at the intersection with Mendekulov Street, with knowingly forged state registration plates 155 ЕЕЕ 02, thereby committing an offense under Part 4 of Article 590 of the Code of Administrative Offenses. the court document states.

It also notes that this was Niyazov’s fourth offense in a year. Previously, he had been cited for driving without license plates, punished for installing fake registration plates, and fined for failing to yield to a vehicle with flashing lights—whether it was an ambulance or police was not specified in the document.

Niyazov did not appear in court at the time, but according to the official record, he admitted guilt. The court therefore ruled in absentia:

To find Yerzhan Bakytzhanovich Niyazov guilty of committing an administrative offense under Article 590 Part 4 of the Code of Administrative Offenses and impose a penalty in the form of deprivation of driving privileges for one year.

Although the article allows for up to five days of administrative arrest, the court decided not to detain him. 

Original Author: Igor Ulitin