Kuandyk Bishimbayev's cousin — Bakhytzhan Baizhanov, sentenced in the murder case of Saltanat Nukenova, is being released from prison by court decision. The convict's lawyer confirmed that the court order provides for his immediate release.
WHAT THE COURT DECIDED
According to lawyer Gaziz Yntykbayev, on 22 July, the Stepnogorsk City Court applied an amnesty act in respect of Bakhytzhan Baizhanov and ordered his immediate release.
According to the defence lawyer, the unserved portion of the sentence was just over three months. Following his release, Baizhanov returns to his family.
HOW THE RELEASE DATE CHANGED
In July 2025, the court granted the petition for amnesty and reduced Bakhytzhan Baizhanov's sentence by 8 months and 8 days. At that point, he had already served 1 year and 11 months of his sentence.
It was previously expected that Baizhanov would be released in November 2026, however, following the new court decision, his release took place on 22 July.
According to the lawyer, the grounds for applying the amnesty act were the absence of negative behaviour, the absence of outstanding damages, and the fact that the remaining term of the sentence was less than one year.
WHAT BAIZHANOV WAS SENTENCED FOR
On 13 May 2024, the Specialised Inter-District Criminal Court of Astana found Bakhytzhan Baizhanov guilty of harbouring an especially serious crime in the murder case of Saltanat Nukenova and sentenced him to 4 years in prison.
