Kazakh opposition journalist shot in Kyiv: search for assailant ongoing

Kazakh opposition journalist Aidos Sadykov has been shot by an unknown individual as he was sitting in a parked car in Kyiv. Police are now looking for the attacker.

Source: Kyiv City Police; an Ukrainska Pravda source in law enforcement familiar with the matter; Kyiv City Prosecutor’s Office

Quote: "Police in the capital received a message on the 102 phone line saying that shots had been heard in Viktor Yarmola Street. Crime scene investigation teams from the Main and District Police Departments were immediately sent to the address.

The law enforcement officers established that an unknown man had approached a parked car in which a man was sitting with his wife. He shot at the man and fled. The woman was not injured."

Details: All the relevant services are working at the scene.

The issue of the legal classification [of the crime] is being resolved. Measures are being taken to establish the assailant’s identity and detain him.

Ukrainska Pravda’s source in law enforcement said the man injured in the attack was Kazakh opposition journalist Aidos Sadykov.

The Prosecutor’s Office reported that a pre-trial investigation has been launched under Articles 15.2 and 115.1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine regarding a premeditated attempt on the life of a citizen of Kazakhstan.

Sadykov, 56, is now in hospital in a serious condition.

The attempted murder was committed not far from the residential building where the couple live.

For reference: Aidos and Natalya Sadykov moved from Kazakhstan to Kyiv in 2014. Criminal charges have been brought against Aidos Sadykov in Kazakhstan which he says are politically motivated.

The Sadykovs obtained refugee status in Ukraine and ran their own YouTube channel, Base (Бәсе). They are critical of the Kazakh authorities and oligarchs and were supportive of the protests that took place in Kazakhstan in 2022.

The Kazakh authorities placed Aidos and Natalya Sadykov on the wanted list in the autumn of 2023, accusing them of inciting hatred.

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