Men suspected of attempt on life of Kazakh opposition journalist in Kyiv flee to Moldova: search announced

Two citizens of Kazakhstan suspected of the attempted murder of Kazakh journalist Aidos Sadykov crossed the border with Moldova on the day of the crime and have been put on the international wanted list.

Source: Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine

Quote: "The suspects fled from the territory of Ukraine on the day the attempted murder was committed by crossing the Ukrainian-Moldovan border. They have been put on the international wanted list.

The Holosiivskyi District Court has remanded the two citizens of Kazakhstan in custody as a pre-trial restriction measure.

The investigation is ongoing, and measures are being taken to arrest the suspects."

Details: The attempted assassination of Kazakh citizen Sadykov was committed on 18 June in the Shevchenkivskyi district of Kyiv near the residential building where the victim lives with his wife.

The two men (Meiram Karataev, 33, and Altai Zhakanbaev, 36) meticulously planned the murder of the journalist, who has refugee status in Ukraine.

The suspects arrived in Ukraine on 2 June, crossing the Polish-Ukrainian border. Once in the capital, they rented an apartment and bought a car.

They were watching the victim for some time, studying his routes.

On 18 June, the day the crime was committed, one of the suspects approached the victim’s car and fired a shot while his accomplice was on look-out near the building. After that, they fled the crime scene.

Under the procedural management of the Kyiv City Prosecutor’s Office, the two citizens of the Republic of Kazakhstan were served with a notice of suspicion for attempted premeditated murder, committed to order and by prior conspiracy.

Background:

• On the afternoon of 18 June, in Kyiv’s Shevchenkivskyi District, an unknown person approached a car and shot at Kazakh opposition journalist Aidos Sadykov, who was in the car.
• Sadykov’s wife Natalya told Ukrainska Pravda that her husband is in intensive care in a critical condition. She is also convinced that Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev was involved in the murder attempt.
• Tokayev, commenting on the attack on Sadykov in Kyiv on 18 June, said that if necessary, the official authorities of Kazakhstan are ready to join the investigation.

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 were granted 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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