In Kazakhstan, a scandalous story concerning the accusation of bribery of judge Svetlana Zholmanova is gaining momentum. According to the judiciary, this whole situation is a provocation on the part of the administration of the district and city courts and the National Security Committee.
At the end of April, the information appeared on social networks and messengers that judge Zholmanova was detained on suspicion of taking a bribe. The posts reported that during a search in Zholmanova’s office, they found $ 4,500, at home – another $ 2.8 million. Another $ 600,000 was found in the judge’s car. In addition, it was clarified that the amount of the bribe, that the judge received from one of the construction companies (what was the reason for her arrest), amounted to $ 1.18 million.
Meanwhile, the press service of the city court denied this information, saying that only $ 10,000 was seized in Zholmanova’s office, and nothing was seized in the judge’s house. The city court also added that they appealed to the Prosecutor’s Office with a statement to find and prosecute those who disseminated inadequate information on the detention of judge Svetlana Zholmanova on social networks.
However, a few days later, the allegedly detained judge refuted the accusations against her.
“The information, which was published on April 28 in the media by the press service of the city court of Almaty about my alleged arrest in the act and finding of a large sum of money in my office, indicating my personal data, is unreliable,” the judge said. “I wasn’t detained. There was no fact of a bribe. There is no criminal case against me. I am not a suspect. I am a witness with a right to a defense. The money, which was found in the office, has nothing to do with the case file.”
According to her, $ 10,000, found in the office, was not a bribe.
“That day I brought money to the office and put it in the safe. My brother and I planned to make an initial contribution to the Housing Bank to buy an apartment so that my elderly mother would live closer to me. There was no other money. All the information about millions of dollars, that has been spread in the media and on social networks, is a lie. There was no money in the car and the apartment. I don’t even have a car. I can confirm the legality of the origin of the money. I have nothing to hide. The stereotype, that “all judges are bribe-takers”, “all are corrupt” is not true,” Zholmanova writes.
Journalists asked, “Why did you need to bring money to the office?” And Zholmanova answered that she had small children at home and she was afraid to leave this money in the apartment.
“It was dangerous. So, I brought the money to my office in order to take it to the bank later. Apparently, they saw on a candid camera that I brought money and decided to take the opportunity of this situation,” she explained.
At the same time, she directly stated that everything, that was happening, was a provocation from the leadership of the city court and the National Security Committee.
“Active coverage of my alleged arrest and search in my office with indicating my name, as well as the leak of photos from the search to social networks, is putting pressure on me,” the judge said.
Earlier on social networks, Zholmanova said that her heads and the National Security Committee were behind this whole situation.
“The governing body, represented by the chairman of the city court Askar Smailov and the chairman of the district court of Medeu of Almaty city Asset Boranbajev, posted information about my alleged detention on the social network,” Zholmanova explains, adding that she has all the necessary evidence.
She also draws attention to the fact that a candid camera was found in her office after the search. According to Zholmanova, she was followed for 9 months – from August 2020.
“I have never had and haven’t any powerful patrons. I assume that the illegal wiretapping was installed by the officer of the National Security Committee Sultan Toybaev, who has recently been part-time advisor to Askar Smaylov, the chairman of the city court of Almaty. I think that the surveillance was organized by the governing body of the city court and an employee of the Department of the National Security Committee of Almaty because of their personal hostility towards me, which had developed earlier for a long time as a result of my independence and opposition to their interference in the activities of judges. My work as a judge has been suspended. So far, there has been no reaction from the Supreme court. At the same time, those, who watched me, had access to my cases and information on them. They knew in advance the outcome of the case before its announcement. It’s possible that they freely and unrestrictedly used and spread everything they saw. My office is also a deliberation room where I make decisions on the cases. In addition, in my office, I change into a judge’s robe. The authorities, with the knowledge of the administration of the court, watching me and listening to me, violated my rights to privacy, inviolability and immunity of a judge, guaranteed by the Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan,” the judge is indignant.
At the same time, she emphasizes that the mass and organization of mailings on social networks about her alleged arrest in the act testifies to the malicious formation of negative public opinion against her.
“The hullabaloo, the attack on my personality is one of the methods of putting pressure on me in order to blacken my reputation. I see this as a way to suppress my will to resist and knowingly prejudge the outcome of the case. As a judge, I didn’t commit any illegal actions against the state, so I don’t understand why the National Security Committee is involved in this case. Fraud cases should be reviewed by the Anti-Corruption Agency. I wrote a petition to transfer this case to another body under investigation. I believe that all this was caused by my opposition to the chairman of the city court and because I defended the independence of judges and the judicial system as a whole. Therefore, they removed me as an uncomfortable judge,” Zholmanova says.
It should also be noted that Zholmanova was asked in what case she is a witness with the right to defense, and who exactly is a suspect in this case. Zholmanova replied that she had no right to disclose the details of the case, and there was no suspect in this case.
It should be clarified that according to the legislation of Kazakhstan, the status of a “witness with the right to defense” can be changed to the status of a “suspect” at any time.
“I have no complaints about the National Security Committee, but I have a grudge against the employee Sultan. I turned to the Prosecutor’s Office with a statement to bring him to justice. As for lawsuits, I have no right to file them, only the Council of Judges of Kazakhstan can file a lawsuit,” the judge sums up.
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