Tengrinews.kz – Convicted Bakhytzhan Baizhanov, the brother of Kuandyk Bishimbayev, has submitted a request for amnesty. The information was confirmed to a Tengrinews.kz correspondent by the Supreme Court.
According to the court, Baizhanov filed the request with the Stepnogorsk District Court on July 9 of this year.
“Bakhytzhan Baizhanov submitted a request for a reduction of his sentence in accordance with the amnesty law. The date for reviewing the request has not yet been set,” the Supreme Court stated.
To recall, Baizhanov was convicted of covering up the murder of Saltanat Nukenova, the civil partner of former Minister of National Economy Kuandyk Bishimbayev. In May 2024, he was sentenced to 4 years in prison.
According to Astana police, Baizhanov was arrested on November 12, 2023. From then until July 2024, he was held in a pre-trial detention center, where one day counts as 1.5 days toward the sentence. If he qualifies for amnesty, his term may be reduced by about eight months.
Based on preliminary estimates, Baizhanov could be released as early as October 2026.
In June, we spoke with Baizhanov’s lawyer, Gaziz Yntykbayev. He reported that Baizhanov is serving his sentence in a medium-security facility in Stepnogorsk. His brother, Kuandyk Bishimbayev, is in the same city but held in maximum-security facility No. 5.
According to Yntykbayev, starting from the summer of 2025, his client will have the right to apply for early conditional release. The lawyer also noted that Bakhytzhan Baizhanov falls under the amnesty declared in Kazakhstan. However, he will not be fully exempt from criminal liability.
On June 23, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev announced an amnesty in honor of the 30th anniversary of the Constitution. It will affect more than 15,000 convicts.