Who Killed Altynbek Sarsenbayuly: Rustam Ibragimov Asks to Review His Case

Rustam Ibragimov's lawyer, Bolat Omarov, gave an exclusive interview Orda.kz

Rustam Ibragimov is currently serving time for the murder of opposition politician Altynbek Sarsenbayuly and two of his assistants. He is in the high-security prison ”Chorny Berkut" in the Jetikarinsky district of the Kostanay region. His lawyer, Bolat Omarov, explained why Ibragimov has decided to appeal to the President of Kazakhstan with a request for a review of his case.

Orda.kz : You visited Rustam Ibragimov “Chorny Berkut”, from where you called and said that you have very important news about him, about the case. Tell us what it is, please. What's new in this case?

Bolat Omarov: At the moment, Ibragimov is preparing an appeal to higher authorities, the judiciary and the Prosecutor General's Office, addressed to the president, where he wants to explain everything that actually happened in 2006 during the murder and the investigation that took place under orders. Previously, he was afraid of "certain forces", and therefore could not do so, but after the January events, many of the employees assigned to him went off the radar.

Orda.kz: Which employees, and what are you talking about in general?

Bolat Omarov: An employee of the KNB has been assigned to him all these years. He controlled everything from top to bottom. He did not live (there - Ed.) with him, but was in Kostanay and periodically visited. No correspondence was sent out without the knowledge of this employee and also did not come in, so he was in a so-called information vacuum, and could not explain much. He was afraid of these employees then, as during all these years he had been intimidated, and these threats were real.

Orda.kz: Now, after The January Events, has he decided that he has a chance to get the case reconsidered? What exactly does Ibragimov want? A review of the investigation or the case?

Bolat Omarov: He is seeking an investigation into newly discovered circumstances since there is no evidence of his guilt in the case.

Orda.kz: What newly discovered circumstances are we talking about? He pleaded guilty himself…

Bolat Omarov: He was thrown into such a situation, and at that time he incriminated both Utembayev and himself since everything happened under orders. Perhaps he will tell you in more detail, now I'm jumping ahead. I don't even want to talk about it. But, in any case, he has already prepared everything himself. I am also helping him to prepare an appropriate appeal addressed to the President, the Prosecutor General, and then to the Supreme Court.

Orda.kz: What are the newly discovered circumstances?

Bolat Omarov: The traces of the crime do not end with Utembayev or Ibragimov, who were convicted, they go higher, and that's what he will talk about.

Orda.kz: But in general, there has already been a review of the case, after Aliyev fell out of favour.

Bolat Omarov: Yes, but we understand perfectly well that the court, which was active (in the case - Ed.) at that time, was obedient. Remember that ominous phrase that Nazarbayev uttered? He was addresing either entrepreneurs or officials and said: “I can take each of you by the hand and take you to court.” Such a phrase expresses disbelief.

That revision was a farce, in which they practically did not understand the subtleties, they did not consider it necessary to look at them. At one point, this verdict was concocted and already presented as a dogma, now it is a false verdict, which over the years has been replicated. Goebbels also said that once a lie is uttered, a lie uttered a thousand times turns into the truth.

You see, there is one very subtle point here. Lawyers know that they have got a guilty plea, but this is not proof unless it is confirmed by other information. In this case, it’s just not confirmed. At the same time, he not only incriminated himself but also the driver Vitaly Miroshnikov referred to his testimony. And how were these testimonies obtained? It turned out already at Miroshnikov's trial, he was subjected to refined torture and was forced to tell not the truth, but what was demanded of him.

Оrda.kz : And what really happened? What is Ibragimov saying now?

Bolat Omarov: He claims that he really received a call from the ex-chairman of the National Security Committee, Alnur Musayev, and fell under his influence. Musayev said that Altynbek Sarsenbayuly and his assistants should be brought to the corner of Furmanov and Bogenbay Batyr Streets, which Rustam did. He received them from the “Arystanovites” (Arystan is an elite special unit of the National Security Committee of the Republic of Kazakhstan, – Ed.).

Оrda.kz: He met all three of them and drove them, and what about those who willingly got into the car?

Bolat Omarov: That's the thing, according to him, they willingly got into the car. Apparently, there was some kind of agreement. He drove people to the specified place, and after a while a black Mercedes drove up, two people quite peacefully transferred them.

Оrda.kz: And that's it, he didn't see them anymore? He didn't know why this was all being done?

Bolat Omarov: Yes, and according to investigators, he allegedly took them to the mountains and shot them there. And it looks so absurd. Three healthy, physically strong and courageous people complied.

Оrda.kz: They complied and went off in the car. Then he found out that they were killed, what does he say about this?

Bolat Omarov: This was the end of his mission, as he claims, so he did not even think that such a thing had happened. And then, when he had already met with Alnur Musayev, he told him that he would now be summoned to the police department, where he should give a statement. Then Rustam began to understand everything. That all this was fabricated, that all this action was under the control of Musayev. Then Ibragimov lost it over the fact that he was framed. Musayev said: “You do what we say, in the end, we will protect you anyway, we will save you,” etc. And now, under their orders, he has been imprisoned for 17 years already.

Оrda.kz: Was he told to incriminate himself by claiming that he had killed them? And then they promised to get him out?

Bolat Omarov: No, the phrase “I killed, I shot” was not in court. This was during the investigation, at the behest of Musayev, who controlled this case directly. At the time he was Kasymov’s (Kalmukhanbet Kasymov, Vice-Minister of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan in 2005 – Ed.) Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs.

Ibragimov guessed that this was a behind–the–scenes affair, it was run by Musayev and Rakhat Aliyev (opposition politician, son-in-law of Nursultan Nazarbayev, ex-ambassador of Kazakhstan to Austria - Ed.), everything was under their control. And as a result, everything was done to protect the true clients and blame Utembayev. Well, let's think, neither Utembayev nor Ibragimov, moreover, had the administrative resource to use Arystan– a division of the KNB. What fear would get them to obey Ibragimov or Utembayev? Even though this question was raised, it was pushed aside in every possible way.

Then there was heavy rain at the scene, which turned into sleet later when the victims were found, but their clothes turned out to be dry, no snow, although everything was covered in snow. Their shoes were clean, their clothes were not stained, but the soil was soaked with moisture there. There were a lot of traces found and treads from cars later. The investigator did not find any traces of the victims, or Ibragimov and Miroshnikov, with whom he allegedly arrived there, there were also no traces of their car treads.

According to investigators, there were about 50 meters from the car where they allegedly brought the three victims, to the place of execution, and they walked through the mud and had to get covered with it. It was night, pitch black, there was violent rain, and in these conditions, there was a shot to the area of the heart and the back of the head. What kind of professional and sniper does a person need to be, because, according to the investigation, he allegedly took them all out alone? Everyone followed blindly, obeying him, and Ibragimov himself got them to go head first on command and fired, I mean come on. Especially these people.

Moreover, if he had been there, in that area, he would have been covered in mud. His clothes were seized and also examined for gunpowder traces, but nothing was found, you know?

Оrda.kz: Tell me, does he have any idea who the perpetrator was? Who does he consider the client?

Bolat Omarov: The perpetrator could be Rakhat Aliyev.

Оrda.kz: This is clear, but how can Rustam Ibragimov have any idea, as Rakhat Aliyev fell into disgrace long ago, in 2008-2009. And Musayev, he leads a beautiful life in Vienna, writes Facebook posts actively. Why wasn’t the case reviewed then, it was possible, they were disgraced.

Bolat Omarov: Until recently, it is unlikely that the case would have been reviewed. Still, there were certain forces that were not interested (in this - Ed.). Even though Ibragimov had been writing (about this - Ed), they revised the sentence against Utembayev, it was reduced from 20 years old to 13 years.

Оrda.kz: What is Ibragimov hoping for now, that it is now possible?

Bolat Omarov: The trouble is that it will be difficult.

Оrda.kz: At the investigation, at the trial, he fully admitted everything, taking responsibility.

Bolat Omarov: Yes, he admitted it and then denied it. Precisely because of the threats. His family, loved ones, and relatives were truly in danger. During the investigation of the criminal case, they also tried to prosecute his father, it’s a fact. Then, when the court was already in motion, and it was held in Taldykorgan, and all the participants in the process had to go there from Almaty, his father and brother also went there by car, and there was a harmless situation, some kind of accident happened. He decided that this was a sign from "these forces", and therefore he was afraid.

Оrda.kz: When he had already been serving time during the investigation, what happened? What signals were received from them?

Bolat Omarov: During the investigation, it was supervised directly by Kasymov. At first he was a deputy minister, then he became a minister. He kept everything under control, and the investigator, respectively, too.

Kasymov offered him in writing: “Admit it and you will be happy,” and he went for it. He was given instructions: "We agreed on Utembayev and that's it, and then everything will be fine."

Оrda.kz: That is, he was initially told to incriminate Utembayev.

Bolat Omarov: Yes he was, yes. He admits it. The main question is: “Who benefits from this?”. In any case, neither Utembayev nor Ibragimov benefited from the murder of Altynbek Sarsenbayuly, this is unequivocal.

Оrda.kz: And now Ibragimov intends to write a letter to the president, to the Supreme Court?

Bolat Omarov: Yes, we hope that the case will be studied, and there we just need to study the case carefully. The participants of the trial who were in court, they also realized this even at that time that it didn’t hold water, and the accusatory bias against Utembayev, against Ibragimov and other defendants.

We always hope for the best, otherwise, there would be no point in starting all this, especially since the course for a New Kazakhstan has been announced. These politically motivated cases definitely need to be reviewed. I mean not only this case, there are also a number of other cases. Here is a brief example. Do you remember Akezhan Kazhegeldin? Why did he leave the country, and why was he subsequently sentenced to 10 years, and the European Parliament did not take this case into account, and he was given a passport of freedom. He considered it a politically motivated case. And there are many such cases.

Original Author: Orda Editorial Office

DISCLAIMER: This is a translated piece, the text has been modified, the content is the same. Please refer to the original article in Russian for accuracy.