Went to Serve Without Our Knowledge: Tragic Story of Conscript Yerbayan Mukhtar

National Guard soldier Yerbayan Mukhtar, who was in a coma for more than 6 months, is gradually recovering. He sustained severe injuries during military service. According to the official version, he fell in a restroom and hit his head. The young man's parents do not believe this, claiming that he was physically assaulted. Multiple injuries were found, which, according to them, could not have been from such a fall. An Orda.kz journalist visited the young man's home and spoke with his family.

Yerbayan Mukhtar's mother's name is Gulsum Kamiyeva. She told us what her son was like as a child, what he dreamed of, and what he aspired to. Since childhood, the boy was kind, active, sociable, and always lifted everyone's spirits. Yerbayan loved sports, namely football. He went to practice rain or shine.

Even if he had a fever and it was minus 40 degrees outside, he would still run off to training. He wanted to become a coach. He graduated from college (vocational school in Kazakhstan - Ed.) and planned to go to university, but before that, he decided to join the army. Even though we had long noticed his desire to serve, his departure for the military came as a surprise to us,
said Yerbayan's mother.

After Yerbayan lost the ability to walk and talk, his family became almost entirely joyless. All their efforts and resources have been targeted toward providing care for Yerbayan. The family struggles, both morally and financially. Yerbayan's family has no money and is only hoping for his recovery. To get the boy back on his feet, expensive treatment abroad is needed, but he must first undergo treatment.

At one point, Caring Kazakhstanis had raised more than 140 million tenge for Yerbayan. Although the figure is notable, it may still not be enough.

Yerbayan's brother believes he is getting better. He has been slowly but surely on the mend since he was brought home from Almaty to Astana. Nauryzbay Sakibayev is confident that the reason is state clinics' lack of quality and care.

My little brother is in good condition now; he has finally started to gain weight. Home care is bearing fruit. He has started following all the commands doctors give him; he clasps hands. He understands, sees, and hears us. We communicate non-verbally. Now, it feels like he is a little child. The mind is a little bit more at ease,said the brother. 

As Nauryzbay says, Yerbayan was never diagnosed. Neither Astana nor Almaty gave him any hope for the best, and after he was discharged, they wanted to send the boy to a hospice. However, the doctors Yerbayan's family managed to meet with have said that his current condition and lab work do not coincide with what the patient is already capable of.

The Doctors say it's madness because the doctors' indications don't match his condition at all. He's already responding well to what's happening. There's hope he'll get back on his feet and start talking again. We're considering several foreign clinics and are gradually preparing for the trip. But we'll have to wait a little longer for that, Nauryzbay said.

Yerbayan's father, Khamit Aitmaganbetov, said that his son decided to join the army without warning anyone. After learning that the young man had gone to undergo a medical examination and had stopped communicating, he asked to be excused from work. He went to the military registration and enlistment office. 

I ran up to the window, asked about my son, and they told me that they had already taken everyone away. A few hours later, when I returned home, he called his mother and said that they had been taken to headquarters by car. Yerbayan said that they were on the way to Kokshetau. I assume that they took his phone away for a while because he was out of touch, he added.

The boy's father admitted that, unlike his mother, he was not against him serving. Since Yerbayan wanted to become a football coach, his father explained that he might need a military registration card. However, the boy planned to serve in the fall, promising to think things over again.

To be honest, I didn't force him. I supported his aspirations, not suspecting that everything would turn out this way. He went to the army, we thought that everything would be fine. But during his service, on December 4, 2023, his company commander, an officer, called me and said that Yerbayan fell in a bathroom and hit his head. I got worried and started asking him how it happened, but he replied that everything was fine and hung up. Five minutes later, he called again and said I needed to come to Almaty. I immediately asked for time off from work and went home to get my things, said the father.

To get to Almaty as quickly as possible, Yerbayan's parents bought a ticket for the next night flight, dropped their younger children off at relatives, and went to the military unit:

My wife was already crying on the way. Her sister went with us. The servicemen met us and brought us to the hospital to see Yerbayan. We were brought together with the head doctor of the institution, who told us that our son was in a coma. They only allowed us to go in one at a time and look at his condition. I was the last one to go in, but I couldn't see the injuries, as his entire head and face were bandaged, only his eyes, nose, and mouth were visible.

Confused about what was happening to Yerbayan and how such a fall could have caused the injuries, the young soldier's relatives went to his unit; they continued to hear that he had brought himself to this state. The company commander apologized to the soldier's family and showed where he allegedly fell.

They brought (us - Ed.) to the restroom and showed that he had fallen. But my son is tall, he couldn't have hit his head in such a narrow room. It didn't matter how you'd fall; walls were on all sides. If that were the genuine case, there would have been more injuries on his body, at least on his back or backside. Being conscious, any person would try to soften the blow, says Yerbayan's father.

When the bandages were removed from the soldier’s head, his sister, who was at the ward almost around the clock, discovered that he had three more scars on his head, not counting the primary injury.

I was in Astana at the time, working, my daughter calls and says: 'Dad, you know, he has three scars on his head that are still fresh.' She sent me a photo. And later we found another scar on his leg, as if there was missing skin, cut out. We were told that they allegedly transplanted skin to his head somewhere. But other doctors, with whom we consulted later, claim that the injuries that Yerbayan received do not require such skin transplant procedures, said Khamit Aitmaganbetov.

The boy's father assumes that at least six or seven people assaulted his son. And since Yerbayan was not a confrontational person at all, he could not have initiated the fight. Aitmaganbetov says money could have been the reason - his son often called, asking for it. What he may have spent it on remains unknown. 

Khamit Aitmaganbetov added that his son rarely asked him for money. But more and more often, he would receive calls requesting to send a thousand or two to his card:

I'd tell him: you have everything there: they clothe you, feed you, why do you need money? He'd also ask me for a little, most from his mother. He took it in parts so as not to arouse suspicion. If he needed five thousand tenge, he would first take two thousand from me, then three from her. So, I hope all those responsible, involved in these extortions, will be punished. We want justice; this will be the right thing.

On September 2, 2024, Health Minister Akmaral Alnazarova commented on the young man's situation.

We, for our part, are also monitoring where he is now, what his condition is... If the soldier needs help, we are also ready to provide it. Yes, he is in serious condition today, so we will now look again at what can be done regarding the issues you raised (additional care, etc.). If additional personnel is needed from us, we will provide it.

When asked about Kazakhstanis independently raising money for necessary purchases to care for the young man, Akmaral Alnazarova replied that such expenses are within the Ministry of Labor's and local Akimats' capacity.

Original Author: Olga Ibraeva

DISCLAIMER: This is a translated piece, the text has been modified, the content is the same. For accuracy, please refer to the original piece in Russian published on 29/01/24. The text has been updated to reflectthe situation as of 03/09/24.