In Kazakhstan, the civil activist Dulat Agadil died in jail

A well-known civil activist in Kazakhstan, Dulat Agadil, suddenly died in the detention center of the city of Nur-Sultan several hours after he was taken there. The Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic announced that Agadil died of acute cardiovascular collapse, and he was intoxicated at the moment of detention.

Video concerning the detention of Agadil appeared on the social network Facebook at about 10 pm on February 24. The video shows how five men in civilian clothes read out the rights to Agadil standing in the middle of the room.

“You have the right to remain silent, everything you say can be used against you,” one of the men says inconsistently.

Then he pronounces a command to handcuff Agadil. Agadil only manages to put on his pants, after that two of the unidentified visitors pinion his hands behind his back.

Filming the process of detention, apparently, one of the activist’s friends at this moment begins to resent the demand to give Agadil the opportunity to at least get dressed. However, in response, swearing is heard. Moreover, the men constantly interfere with making video and hide their faces. Due to hampering, it is difficult to assess the state of the civil activist. However, from the few shots where he is present, it cannot be argued that he is drunk.

The second video already shows how Agadil (he was allowed to get dressed) is taken out. There’s a lot of snow outside. They put him in a car with license plate 538нka03. The off-screen person states that this is not a patrol car, but a civilian one.

In some minutes, both videos were quickly spread on social networks. In the comments, users compared what was happening with 1937, and the behavior of employees, who were detaining Adil, with the behavior of the NKVD officers.

This morning it became known that the 43-year-old Agadil died in jail last night. The press service of the police department of Nur-Sultan informed that according to the results of the medical examination, “Agadil was intoxicated at the moment of his arrest”.

“The death was certified by the medical emergency team. Preliminary cause of death is “acute cardiovascular collapse”. There are no injuries on the body of the deceased. A pre-trial investigation has begun,” the Agency said.

The police also talked about the reasons for the detention of the activist. In particular, it is alleged that several criminal cases were opened against Agadil for contempt of court, which was expressed in insulting a judge and participants of a court session.

“In January of this year, he was recognized by default as a defendant. A preventive measure in the form of a recognizance not to leave was chosen against him. Due to non-appearance and evasion of conducting of investigative actions, the preventive measure was changed by the court for detention. On February 24 of the current year, at about 9 p.m. D. Agadil was found at his home and later delivered to the pre-trial detention center. In the cell of the pre-trial detention center, where he was placed, there were four more people. They testified that there was no fact of the use of violence against Agadil,” the police noted.

Meanwhile, another civic activist, the initiator of the creation of the Democratic Party of Kazakhstan, Zhanbolat Mamay, who recently visited a pre-trial detention center because of participation in a rally on February 22, does not believe in the death of Agadil for natural reasons.

“How can a healthy, young man die at 40? Well, if this happened at home. But he died in a pre-trial detention center, where law enforcement officers and prison guards were responsible for his life! Dulat Agadil was not a criminal. He was a man with an active civic position, spoke at rallies, expressed dissatisfaction with the policies of Nazarbaev’s regime. So his death is a political case. All those involved in the death of Agadil should be held criminally responsible, moreover, let them give the name of the one who ordered his detention!

The death of Dulat Agadil demonstrates open terror against civil activists of Kazakhstan!” Mamay wrote on his Facebook page.

Dulat Agadil already had experience of being in pre-trial detention facilities. Moreover, once he even managed to escape from the pre-trial detention center. This happened in November 2019. According to police, Agadil, detained for participating in rallies on October 26, escaped from the temporary detention center. He asked to go to the toilet and, taking advantage of the fact that the officer was distracted by a phone call, made an escape.

In December last year, a civil activist again was again put in the capital jail. He was arrested on December 16 and given 15 days of arrest. One of the activists detained with Agadil, Gulmira Halykova said that Agadil swallowed screws and nails. Only thanks to the emergency call of the ambulance, the activist was not injured.