Nazarbayev's Nephew: Lawyers of Wild Arman and Ruslan Iskakov Propose to Combine Cases

Representatives of the defense in a Bloody January case made a statement at the national press club in Almaty, reports Orda.kz

On January 15, information surfaced that the case against Nursultan Nazarbayev's nephew was transferred to court. Samat Abish is suspected of abuse of office (part 4, Article 362 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan). He faces from five to 10 years in prison with confiscation of property and a life ban on holding certain positions.

According to preliminary information, the case of the former KNB deputy chairman will be considered in the Specialized Inter-district Criminal Court of Astana, where Karim Massimov was found guilty of treason, forcible seizure of power, and abuse of power and official authority.

Samat Abish's involvement was initially announced by the ex-head of the 5th Department of the National Security Committee, Ruslan Iskakov, back in January 2023. His wife, Saule Iskakova, also stated that Abish had flown from the UAE to Kazakhstan for interrogation as a witness. Later, in court, Iskakov confirmed that he was following Abish's orders.

Was Wild Arman Involved at The Behest of Samat Abish?

The case against Arman Dzhumageldiyev (Wild Arman), former Almaty Maslikhat deputy, Kairat Kudaibergen, and former employee of the National Security Committee Ruslan Iskakov is being considered in the Specialized Interdistrict Criminal Court of Almaty. More than 40 people are recognized as suspects. The court is being held behind closed doors.

According to Dzhumageldiev's representative, Rena Kerimova, they decided to hold a press conference as a matter of urgency. One reason is the completion of the criminal investigation into the case against Samat Abish.

According to Salimzhan Musin, who represents the interests of former KNB officer Iskakov, the name of his client was not disclosed during the narration of a recent film about Qantar. He was a so-called intermediary "by default".

When they showed a photo of Arman Dzhumageldiyev and the former head of the special agency, it was clear that an intermediary was needed. This figure is my client by default. There is a link to all the materials of the criminal case, and all this is stated there. And here it sounds categorically that a representative of the criminal world, receiving instructions from a representative of special agencies, carried out everything. And who is the representative of the KNB in this criminal case? My client is a fine specialist, a competent lawyer, fulfilled his official duties and the orders of his immediate supervisor, Samat Abish, whose criminal case went to court,
Musin said. 

Against the background of the investigation's completion into Nazarbayev's nephew, the lawyers of Dzhumageldiyev and Iskakov have brought forward questions.

My colleagues and I discussed: maybe we should file a petition to combine these two criminal cases? Article 143 of the CPC of the Republic of Kazakhstan allows this to be done,
 Iskakov's lawyer said.

Wild Armand's lawyer also agreed with this idea. Together with her colleague, Rena Kerimova said that they are still only discussing the idea.

We have not yet put this into a certain procedural form. But I think it would be wise on our part, because my client (Ruslan Iskakov - editor's note) directly indicates that he acted according to an order. He did not buy plane tickets, he just received clear instructions, a clear order. He said "Yes sir" and boarded the plane. The instruction was as follows: reach out to Arman Dzhumageldiyev and try to somehow influence the situation with his help in order to calm the protesters on the square because there was no other authority. And he went to do it. He was directly in touch with the nephew in a general's uniform (Samat Abish — Ed.). Iskakov says bluntly that he betrayed him and retracted his words, Musin said.

Leak

Dzhumageldiev's lawyer criticized the film "Qantar", which was released on the Khabar TV channel. Kerimova said that the facts in these films are distorted. She called them made-to-order and considers them to be "the most authentic film adaptation of the indictment." The lawyer noted that she would like to make a video from the pre-trial detention center.

We ask you to register a criminal case for each film and publication. First, of course, to conduct a check and analysis. Let the Prosecutor General's Office determine whether the information is false or not, how reliable it is being disseminated. And let them register a criminal case. For some reason, Dzhumageldiyev, Iskakov and others were banned from speaking, they were driven into the framework of this trial. At the same time, anyone can view the prosecution's version on any resource. In the course of the narration of the film about "Qantar", a terrible picture is shown and the author says: "We have carefully studied and carefully analyzed all the circumstances and facts, documents, photos, video materials, and eyewitness accounts." Please explain to me where the facts, documents and everything else come from on the central channel? When no lawyer still has a video from the case file. It was a struggle to get terabytes of video, Kerimova said. 

Lawyers insist that the trial of their clients is open with maximum accessibility or that they be given the right to speak to the public. They even hinted at the possibility of considering the case in the International Court of Justice.

Original Author: Maria Gorbokonenko

DISCLAIMER: This is a translated piece. The text has been modified except for the quotes, the content is the same. Please refer to the original piece in Russian for accuracy. The original article was posted on 16/01/24.