Keles: Son Detained, Wife under Investigation After Elderly Father’s Death

The wife of a resident of the village of Keles, whose husband was arrested for beating his own father, has also been placed under investigation. Neighbors had earlier claimed the woman witnessed the abuse of her sick father-in-law but did nothing to intervene, Orda.kz reports.

The case shocked the Turkistan region after a video surfaced online showing an elderly man being beaten. Local resident Almaz Sadakbayev, known in the area as a cheerful toastmaster, was filmed dragging his ailing father along the ground and beating him until he bled.

The incident occurred in early September.

The 70-year-old man passed away a week ago. Police initially detained his son before later opening a case against his daughter-in-law.

The police of the Shardara district opened a criminal case on the fact of the death of the elderly man under the article of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan ‘Intentional infliction of grievous bodily harm resulting in the death of the victim.’ The suspect is in custody with the sanction of the court. Along with this, a pre-trial investigation was launched against the woman under the article of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan ‘assault and battery committed by a group of persons,’
 the press service of the Turkistan Region Police Department told Orda.kz.

Police also stated they had not previously received any official complaints of violence within the Sadakbayev family.

Background

Orda.kz learned more details of the tragedy. Neighbors said they often heard screams and swearing from the Sadakbayev household. 

The footage of the assault quickly spread on social media, but no one stepped in to protect the elderly man.

We heard my wife's voice too. They both scolded. We were all shocked. What kind of times are these? The video was sent to the Akimat. They thought they would take action. They seemed to have given a warning. But soon the old man died,
 recalls villager Malika Beisenova.

The family had only moved to the village in July. Before that, they lived near a mosque in housing for those in need. 

According to residents, Almaz Sadakbayev had served as a muezzin at the mosque for two years and also worked part-time as a toastmaster at celebrations and as a cultural methodologist at the local Akimat.

The father did not live with him then. He lived with his younger son. They say that when Almaz bought the house, he took his father with him. He was married two or three times. If we had known in advance, we would not have allowed this to happen,
said the local imam, Nurakhmet Bekzhigitov.

Yesirkep had suffered a stroke and had major spinal problems, leaving him unable to move easily.

Although not formally registered as disabled, he required constant care.

His father was a calm man, worked on a state farm, no one ever noticed anything bad about him. Yesirkep was a sick man. Maybe it was hard for his son to look after him, raise him, feed him. But that's no excuse,
 said neighbor Nurken Agazhanov. 

Doctors and neighbors complained several times. We held a meeting with the imam, the local police officer, the mediator. We warned them not to let this happen again,
admitted Deputy Akim of the Kosseit rural district, Adilbek Aldeneev.

Original Authors: Zhadra Zhulmukhametova, Nazerke Yerkinbekkyzy