Suspects Face Trial in Maktaaral Homicide Amid Claims of Irregularities

In November last year, six young men in the Maktaaral district of the Turkistan region attacked 30-year-old Aziz Kuralbayev, who later died from his injuries.

According to relatives, the assault happened after Aziz visited a neighboring village to meet his fiancée. The suspects were detained, but only one of them now faces a homicide charge. 

Orda.kz looked into the case.

Background

According to Moldir Usenbayeva, the wife of the victim’s older brother, Aziz, had no prior conflict with the attackers and did not know them. That evening, while returning home, he was stopped by several young men who questioned his visit to the village.

Aziz tried to leave, but he was pulled from his car and assaulted. 

Those involved initially wanted to leave Aziz unconscious in a vacant lot. But they later took him to the hospital.

Aziz was a good man, never hurt anyone. Everyone knew him as a kind and compassionate young man. He was like a son to us. Why did he have to die at the hands of these agressors? Because he simply came to the neighboring village to meet a young woman? How is this possible?! Moldir Usenbayeva recalls.

Relatives allege that the attackers also inflicted further abuse, including stubbing out cigarettes on his body and forcing alcohol into his mouth after he had lost consciousness.

He was covered in blood, and they did terrible things to him. No respect, no pity. I can't understand how anyone could do this to a person, Moldir recalls.

The Investigation

Lawyer Nurtugan Omirzakov, representing the family, pointed out what he views as inconsistencies in the investigation.

Initially, all six suspects were charged under Article 293 (Hooliganism), since Aziz was alive and able to testify at the time of their arrest. However, after his death, the charge was amended, and as a result, only one is charged with homicide. Three are charged only with hooliganism, and two of them were even witnesses. Furthermore, there was another violation: during the investigation, the suspects' statements were supposed to be entered into the database within 24 hours. However, the investigator did not do this within a day, or two, but after half a year. In court, he explained this by saying that the database was not working. Okay, the database could have been inoperational for a day, two, or five at most, but not for six months?
 the lawyer said.

Moldir Usenbayeva also voiced concerns about the fairness of the process:

What kind of laws are these? A man dies, six people assault him, and in the end, only two? How is this possible? Why is the justice system so lenient toward violent criminals?

Statements and Court Proceedings

During the investigation, two of the defendants initially admitted to their involvement in recorded statements, but later retracted them. According to Omirzakov, the court did not consider the earlier confessions.

The investigator said these confessions were meaningless. He claimed that the suspects retracted their statements in subsequent statements. Why is that? Why weren't confessions made during the covert investigation taken into account?
 the lawyer asked.

The trial, presided over by Judge Mukhtar Zholdasbekov, is ongoing in Maktaaral.

The Turkistan Regional Court informed Orda.kz that closing arguments have not yet been completed, with the last session held on September 11, 2025.

Original Author: Perizat Zharylkasyn