Accused of killing prosecutor in Kyrgyzstan faces life sentence

Melis Kalykov, accused of the murder of Anarbai Mamazhakypov (prosecutor of Batken oblast), may be sentenced to life imprisonment. This was reported to ACCA by his lawyer Sartbay Zhaichybekov.

The lawyer said that the trial of the high-profile case went into the final phase; the debate of the parties began. This means that soon the court will have to reach a verdict.

“In my opinion, Melis Kalykov has very few chances to stay at large. We can hardly count on a fair sentence, since the judge Zholbors Kudayarov is interested in imprisoning him. I believe that the judge, who himself is a defendant in three criminal cases, is pressured by the Prosecutor’s office. Moreover, the investigator who is involved in the case of Kalykov is also involved in the case of the judge,” the lawyer said.

According to him, the General Prosecutor’s office is interested in conviction of Kalykov.

“There is a version that the prosecutors themselves killed Mamazhakypov so that their violations in work would go unpunished,” explains Zhaichybekov.

Earlier, the sister of the defendant Damira Kalykova several times stated that they were trying to imprison her brother for a crime that he did not commit. Moreover, according to the relative of the accused, the relatives of very influential people in Kyrgyzstan are involved in this high-profile case. Aslan Baybosunov, the deputy of killed prosecutor, who was present at that hunt, is, according to Kalykova, a relative of Prime Minister Mukhamedkaly Abylgaziev. Another deputy prosecutor who was also on the hunt, Emilbek Azhibekov, according to the rumours, is the son of the sister of the President Sooronbai Jeenbekov.

Relatives and lawyers of the accused argue that the investigation and trial in this case takes place with a large number of violations. One of the recent ones is the appointment of a public defender to the accused.

“The meetings are not coordinated with lawyers. In addition, the secretary does not even notify lawyers of the date and time of the process, although it should be. Two meetings were appointed, which I missed, because I participated in other processes. According to the law, if the defendant does not have a lawyer, then after five days he is appointed a state attorney on duty. In the case of Kalykov, no one began to wait for the deadline, the lawyer Chynargul Kambarova was appointed on the same day. Moreover, she did not have time to get acquainted with all the materials of the case,” said Zhaichybekov.

According to the lawyer, this was done intentionally in order to deprive his client of high-quality legal protection.

Sartbay Zhaichybekov also noted that the court ignores material evidence casting doubt on the prosecution’s version.

“We have the statement of independent experts, which refutes the conclusion of the forensic inquiry, which, incidentally, was carried out not directly with the corpse, but from photographs. To challenge this conclusion, we filed a petition, but we were refused a commission examination. The court explained this by saying that there is already the conclusion, which means that there is no reason for a second examination,” the lawyer said.

According to the lawyer, the prosecution has no substantial evidence of Melis Kalykov’s guilt.

“All that the prosecution has is two indirect, moreover, falsified evidences. The main, so to speak, witness in this case is Ulan Nurmatov. He claims that at 20:00 he was driving to Batken and saw a car on the side of the road and the driver inside. Near the car was a body. I requested to make printouts of telephone conversations of Nurmatov. I got acquainted with them, and it turned out that on the day of the murder, the witness was in Batken from noon. That is, he, in principle, could go from Batken, but not to the city. However, neither the prosecutor nor the judge is confused by the fact that there are contradictions in the testimony,” says Zhaichybekov.

The absence of direct evidence against Melis Kalykov at one of the court hearings in August of this year was also stated by the investigator Omurbek Miyzamov, who was investigating the murder. The court also already stated that the ballistic examination could not establish the brand of weapons from which the prosecutor was shot.

Recall, the 43-year-old prosecutor of Batken region Anarbai Mamazhakypov was found dead on November 18, 2018 in one of the gorges near the city of Batken. The criminal case was instituted on this fact under the article 97 “Murder” of the Criminal Code of the Kyrgyz Republic. On suspicion of committing the crime, the head of the capital construction department of Batken region, Melis Kalykov, was detained, who had gone hunting in the mountains with the deceased. At the moment, he is being detained in a pre-trial detention center in Osh oblast.

Melis Kalykov himself insists on his innocence. According to him, the police tried to obtain confessions from him by torture and beatings. The fact of torture against the defendant was confirmed by specialists of the National Center for the use of torture. The defendant also went on an indefinite hunger strike in protest against police and judicial lawlessness. However, he had to terminate it due to a sharp deterioration in his state of health.

Note that the next meeting in the case was to be held in the city court of Osh on Monday, November 11. It was postponed. The date of the next hearing is unknown.