The chairman of the Astana inter-district court, Kazhymukan Mekemtas, has become a suspect in sending a fake complaint under the name of judge Slambekova, containing accusations against the chairman of the city court. A notification about the registration of an appeal to the Presidential Administration in her name was received from the '1414' contact centre. The criminal case has been closed, but the materials have been sent to the Commission on Judicial Ethics.
According to Ratel.kz, the email contained an appeal to the head of the Presidential Administration, Aibek Dadebay, the Chairman of the Supreme Court, Aslambek Mergalimov, and the Chairman of the Higher Judicial Council, Dmitry Malakhov.
The text, written in Slambekova's name, contained accusations against the chairman of the Astana court, Akhan Zhumagulov. Specifically, it claimed that Zhumagulov was forcing the judge to 'carry out dirty tasks', give instructions to other judges, and use her official position for personal gain.
"In such situations, I become a victim of intrigue and I am tired of being the scapegoat in all of Zhumagulov's corruption schemes… Several judges of the Astana city economic court are building him a private cottage with their 'earned money', and in return they have the right to 'freedom of action' in court… I have become a punitive body within the judiciary, and this has greatly affected my reputation. I do not want law enforcement agencies to ask me the wrong questions… He uses official cars for personal purposes… He distributes gifts to the country's leadership… At the moment, Akhan Maratovich wants to become the chairman of the cassation panel of the Supreme Court, and this fact compelled me to write this appeal… If such a person goes into such a position, the judicial system will collapse", the appeal stated.
The letter was signed by judge Aisulu Slambekova. In turn, the investigation seized the original complaints and envelopes. According to the conclusion of a forensic handwriting examination conducted as part of the case, the signatures on the documents were made not by Slambekova, but by another person imitating her genuine signature.
The envelopes bore a postmark 'Ts' with the mark 'Astana PSchT 18022511', dated 18 February 2025, 11:00. Questioned employees of Kazpost JSC explained that this postmark belongs to the sorting department of the main post office at 13 Auezov Street. There is only one post box on this section of the street, near the building entrance.
According to CCTV footage from Kazpost JSC, on 17 February at 11:30 a sorter removed letters from the box. At 14:56, a man approached the box and placed envelopes inside. The next day, 18 February, the sorter removed the envelopes and applied the postmark. Thus, during that specific period, only one person could have dropped the letters – the same man captured on video.
Investigators reviewed footage from 'Sergek' cameras at the intersection of Abai and Auezov Streets and established that on 17 February at 14:56, a Mercedes Benz GLE450 with license plate 555 KZZ 01 stopped near the post office. A man got out of the car, walked to the post box, and dropped envelopes with the QazPost logo inside. He then returned to the car and drove away.
Police identified that the car was registered to a certain Kanadanova, and the listed driver was her husband – Kazhymukan Mekemtas, who holds the position of Chairman of the Astana Inter-district Criminal Court.
Furthermore, using mobile network operator data, police determined that at the time the letters were sent, Mekemtas was located at 26 Abai Street, then moved to 24 Respublika Avenue. This matches the routes of the vehicle captured on the cameras.
To identify the sender of the letter, investigators seized CCTV footage from the Astana court. Based on this, a forensic facial identification examination was conducted. According to the experts' conclusions, the image of the person on the video matches Mekemtas's appearance.
Nevertheless, during questioning, Judge Mekemtas himself stated that he had no connection to the sent complaints.
On 10 April, the senior investigator for major cases of the investigative department of the Astana Police Department terminated the pre-trial investigation under Article 274, Part 1 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan (dissemination of knowingly false information), citing the absence of a criminal offence.
The grounds for this were the alleged absence of harm to the rights and legitimate interests of Judge Slambekova and the fact that the alleged victim, court chairman Akhan Zhumagulov, had not filed a police report.
Despite the case being closed, the investigative department carried out a significant amount of work: expert examinations were conducted, and staff from the prosecutor's office, the criminal police, and three state institutions were involved. Considerable resources were spent on pre-trial actions. In connection with this, the investigator submitted a report to the Commission on Judicial Ethics:
"I conclude that the actions of Judge of the ASIC of Astana, Mekemtas K.M., contradict the requirements of the norms of the Code of Judicial Ethics, namely Article 5 of the Code of Judicial Ethics, i.e., a judge, like any citizen, is guaranteed constitutional rights and freedoms, including freedom of speech, conscience, association, dissemination of information, and others. In the process of exercising these rights, a judge must remember to maintain the authority of the judiciary and not allow violations of ethical norms, as well as avoid relationships that could affect his independence. A judge must refrain from any negative behaviour in society, from anything that could diminish his dignity and the authority of the judiciary as a whole in the eyes of the public.", the report states.
The Ethics Commission must now determine whether a misdemeanour discrediting the title of judge has occurred.