Tengrinews.kz — The Court of Criminal Cassation has overturned the conviction of a Baikonur resident who had previously been found guilty of concealing an especially serious crime.
According to the case materials, in 2021 the man, identified in court documents as K., deleted correspondence from his mobile phone while in Baikonur. Investigators believed that by doing so he had hidden traces of his acquaintances’ illegal activities.
“The court of first instance found him guilty of non-promised concealment of an especially serious crime under Article 432 of the Criminal Code. Taking into account the amnesty act, he was sentenced to eight months in prison,” the court said.
The defense appealed the court rulings, insisting that there was no evidence of guilt.
After reviewing the case, the cassation court concluded that the prosecution had not provided sufficient and reliable evidence.
The court noted that during the pre-trial investigation, it was not established exactly what correspondence had been deleted, who it was with, what it contained, or how its deletion could indicate the concealment of traces of a crime.
In this regard, the cassation court concluded that the prosecution had failed to prove that the man had committed active actions constituting non-promised concealment of an especially serious crime.
Following the review, the cassation court overturned the previous judicial acts and terminated the proceedings against the Kazakhstani citizen due to the absence of elements of a criminal offense in his actions.