Tengrinews.kz — Bakhytzhan Baizhanov, the cousin of Kuandyk Bishimbayev, is set to be released on July 22. Details were shared by Alibek Sekerov, another lawyer for the convict.
When Bishimbayev's brother will be released
According to the lawyer, Baizhanov is indeed being released from custody following a court decision. He is scheduled to go free on July 22 at approximately 18:00.
"The court ordered his immediate release because, after applying the 2025 and current year amnesties, his remaining term lasted until November 20, 2026. Due to the amnesty, his sentence is automatically fully reduced, and he must be released immediately," Alibek Sekerov told a Tengrinews.kz correspondent.
According to him, Bakhytzhan Baizhanov has been placed under administrative supervision for a period of 6 years.
"Administrative supervision is typically assigned to everyone convicted of serious crimes. This serves as a preventive measure," explained lawyer Alibek Sekerov.
He added that Bakhytzhan Baizhanov's wife has already traveled to Stepnogorsk to meet him in person.
Further details were provided by the Criminal Executive System Committee (KUIS).
"Regarding information circulating on social media, we report that convict B. Baizhanov has been released based on a court order applying the amnesty law in connection with the adoption of the new Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Additionally, administrative supervision has been established for 6 years," the statement said.
At the time the court reviewed the matter, the unserved portion of Baizhanov's sentence was 3 months and 18 days.
Court orders immediate release of Bishimbayev's brother from prison
The Tengrinews.kz editorial office has obtained the Stepnogorsk City Court ruling regarding the release of Bakhytzhan Baizhanov.
According to the document, the court granted the petition from the administration of Institution No. 4 of the Criminal Executive System Committee to reduce the unserved portion of the sentence under the amnesty law.
The court noted that Baizhanov did not have a negative behavioral rating, and at the time the petition was considered, he had 3 months and 18 days of his sentence remaining. The convict himself did not object to the application of the amnesty act, and the prosecutor also supported the institution's petition.
As a result, the court ruled to grant the institution's petition, reduce Baizhanov's unserved primary sentence based on the amnesty law, and release him from places of deprivation of liberty immediately.
The ruling may be appealed within 15 days from the date of its pronouncement.
Earlier, another lawyer, Gaziz Yntykbaev, confirmed to Tengrinews.kz that Baizhanov would be released ahead of schedule. The court made this decision yesterday.
Baizhanov released under amnesty
Previously, the prosecutor had dropped another charge against Baizhanov under Article 434 of the Criminal Code, "Failure to report a known crime."
One of the key episodes in Baizhanov's case involved CCTV footage from the restaurant where Saltanat Nukenova died. In court, Baizhanov admitted he ordered the deletion of the footage but claimed he was unaware a serious crime had been committed. This served as the primary line of his defense.
Delivering his final statement in court in May 2023, Baizhanov stated he did not know he was concealing an especially grave crime.
"If I had consciously taken actions to hide a crime, I would not be defending myself, and I would never forgive myself," Bishimbayev's brother said at the time.
The video is dated May 6, 2024.
Following the verdict, Baizhanov's lawyers filed an appeal, seeking acquittal due to the absence of a crime. The case reached the Astana Court of Appeals on June 10, 2024, with the hearing set for June 26. At that time, the criminal judicial panel of the Astana Court left the sentences for Kuandyk Bishimbayev and Bakhytzhan Baizhanov unchanged. The ruling entered into legal force upon its pronouncement.
Later, Baizhanov filed a petition for amnesty. In August 2025, the court announced that his unserved sentence was reduced by one-third under the amnesty law marking the 30th anniversary of the Constitution. His final term was set at 1 year, 4 months, and 17 days of imprisonment.
Baizhanov was detained on November 12, 2023, and held in a pre-trial detention center, where one day of confinement is credited as one and a half days in a penal colony. He is serving his sentence in a medium-security facility in Stepnogorsk. Following the sentence recalculation, Baizhanov was expected to be released approximately in December 2026.