Ex-Kazakh Minister ‘Beats’ Wife to Death in 8-Hour Attack at Restaurant, Caught on CCTV
The trial of Kazakhstan’s former economy minister, Kuandyk Bishimbayev for the murder of his wife, Saltanat Nukenova, has shocked the nation, with thousands calling for harsher penalties for domestic violence.
CCTV footage depicted the minister dragging his wife by her hair, and subsequently punching and kicking her. Following the recorded incident, Nukenova succumbed to brain trauma. The footage, spanning eight hours, also captured Bishimbayev breaking down a door as Nukenova attempted to seek refuge in a bathroom. Nukenova, aged 31, was discovered dead in November within a restaurant owned by one of Bishimbayev’s relatives.
Initially denying involvement, Bishimbayev confessed in court on Wednesday to assaulting her and inadvertently causing her demise. Bishimbayev’s legal team contested medical evidence suggesting Nukenova died from repeated head trauma. They attempted to portray her as prone to jealousy and violence, despite no evidence from the restaurant’s security cameras showing her attacking Bishimbayev.
Bishimbayev, 44 years old, once celebrated as a modern, Western-educated figure within the Kazakhstani government under former leader Nursultan Nazarbayev, was incarcerated for bribery in 2018.
He was later granted a pardon, less than two years into his sentence. A 2018 study supported by UN Women revealed approximately 400 women in Kazakhstan die annually due to domestic violence, with many cases going unreported.
In 2017, Kazakhstan decriminalised certain forms of domestic violence, categorising them as causing “minor” physical damage, punishable by fines or brief imprisonment. This move mirrored Russia’s actions that year, provoking outrage among advocates for women’s rights. Kazakhstan has since reversed this legislation, intensifying penalties for offenders and introducing new criminal charges, including harassment of minors.
