Tied to a Saddle and Dragged Across the Steppe: Family Blames Husband for Woman’s Death in Jetisu

An incident took place in the village of Balasaz in the Aqsu district of the Jetisu region. A young pregnant woman, 32-year-old Aizat Dzhumanova, died in front of her two-year-old daughter. Everything indicates that the abuse lasted at least six hours.

The suspect is her husband, Aibar Kairatuly Zhanbolat, an Orda.kz correspondent reports.

Reportedly, it all started with a quarrel, which later grew into violence. Aizat was beaten with such cruelty that, according to doctors, almost all of her ribs, skull, lower jaw, fingers, spine, and knees were broken. Her entire body was covered in abrasions, cuts, and lacerations.

The medical report reads like a list of torture methods: closed craniocerebral trauma, brain contusion and edema, a basal skull fracture, multiple fractures of the limbs and pelvis, and abrasions consistent with being dragged across a rough surface.

Aizat’s relatives believe she was tied by the wrists to a horse saddle and dragged across the steppe.

Like some ancient execution ritual—she was bound and dragged until all that remained was a broken body,  says her mother, Saltanat Dzhumanova.

According to the family, Aizat’s husband is a farmer who owns a herd of horses. It’s the nature of her injuries that raised their suspicions: torn skin on her knees, dislocated and fractured fingers, ripped ligaments, and patches of flesh worn raw and bleeding. This wasn’t just a beating, they say — it was torture.

And the wounds on her wrists were the most harrowing. Aizat’s sisters, who prepared her body for burial, say the skin was completely gone, stripped to the raw flesh beneath.

When we took off her clothes, we couldn’t hold back our tears. Mom fainted on the spot. There wasn’t a single uninjured part of her body. Not one, the woman's sister said.

The footage from the video is shocking:

We are sure: it was physical abuse. I worked as a paramedic for 30 years. Such injuries can't be from a fall or a fight. It looks like she was being dragged along the ground. And not for five minutes, but for hours, says Aizat's aunt, Raushan Daurenbekova.

Moreover, as it turned out later, Aizat was pregnant. And all this happened in front of her two-year-old daughter. The child is currently in a state of deep shock.

She doesn’t speak — she just holds her head and whispers every morning, ‘Mom, Mom.’ She’s afraid of shadows, and she doesn’t sleep at night. She saw everything, but she couldn’t talk about it. She’s the only silent witness, say the relatives of the deceased.

According to police reports, Aizat Dzhumanova was brought to the Taldykorgan Multidisciplinary Hospital on June 22 at 2:30 a.m. Just thirty minutes later, doctors declared her dead.

Her family doesn’t believe that timeline — they are convinced she was already lifeless by the time she arrived.

What’s more, they claim that before she was taken to the hospital, Aizat’s body was washed and dressed in clean clothes. There were no visible traces of blood or violence on her garments. Everything, they say, points to a deliberate attempt to cover up a crime.

Eyewitnesses say her husband appeared drunk and aggressive, even at the hospital. Police took him into custody shortly after.

The neighbors say they heard nothing:

'They’re all afraid,' the family says. 'Aizat’s husband comes from a wealthy and powerful family. People fear losing their jobs, their homes. They fear retaliation. That’s why no one is speaking out.'

Aibar Kairatuly Zhanbolat — Aizat’s husband — had recently announced his candidacy for Akim of the village of Kapal.

A criminal case has been opened under Article 106, Part 3 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan: “Intentional infliction of grievous bodily harm resulting in death by negligence.”

The victim’s relatives say the case has been classified far too lightly, as if it were some kind of accident. They’re demanding it be reclassified under Article 99, Part 3 of the Criminal Code: “Homicide committed with particular cruelty.”

This wasn’t just ‘negligent homicide’ — this was torture. Deliberate. Methodical. And after that, he tried to cover his tracks. Everything he did was intentional, the family insists.

Aizat’s mother has lost both her daughter and her grandson, and her granddaughter is now left without a mother. 

Original Author: Sandugash Duisenova

DISCLAIMER: This is a translated piece. Please refer to the original article linked via the author's name for accuracy. The text has been edited, the content is the same.