Death of cop: father gives press conference at morgue gate

By Murat Sultangaliev

Lawyer Maksut Tolenbayev (R) and the police officer's father Kalybai Karazhanov 

On the evening of April 27, the father and the lawyer of Altynbek Kubaydullin, the former head the Issatai District police who was found dead following a hospital escape soon after his arrest on corruption charges, gave a press conference at the gates of a morgue where the body now is.

Kalybai Karazhanov, Altynbek Kubaidullin’s father:

"On April 21 at about 3:00pm I was told my son was arrested. I arrived from Inderborsky village to Atyrau at 5:00pm and went straight to Financial Police office. I asked them to let me see my son, but they refused. I waited by the gates through the midnight. In the meantime I saw them bring in officers from the Issatai District police for interrogation. I took the opportunity and talked to them in the street after they were released. They told me they heard Altynbek screaming and financial police interrogators shout at him. I asked an officer on duty to allow me to see my son, but they didn't let me in. After the midnight an ambulance arrived and one hour later doctors  came out with son. He had handcuffs on and was accompanied by two finpol officers.

During the arrest he had no signs of paint on his hands from the bribe money marked by financial police earlier. 

He shouted he had been set up. This wasn’t on the video made by the financial police operative group and later given to the press after being edited.

Deputy chief of financial police called me and asked me to help them find my son, but at the same time he was on the local TV speaking about his arrest. What did they achieve? They killed him in the end. I saw the dead body of my son: his hands, legs, the whole body were in bruises. Looked like he was beaten. Who did that? Nobody, but those who detained him. My son didn’t need money. He came from a simple working class family. He was an honest man and never did harm. The allegation that he had long ago been sued for drugs wasn’t true. He then was summoned to the Internal Affairs Security Service and there resigned from law enforcement agencies. A year later he came back. He worked in police for 14 years. He has three small children.

They set him up. The person who gave him the bribe is a former field investigator who has connections in the financial police. That person has two criminal records. I think somebody wanted Altynbek's post of the chief of police. Shortly before this, he was attacked by poachers throwing stones at him. This is, probably, some sort of an interdepartmental war. In any case, financial police wanted to get rid of him. I will file a complaint to the Prosecutor General's Office and to the president of the country. I will not leave it still like this… He was my only son." 

Maksut Tolenbayev, the lawyer of Kubaidullins says:

"Altynbek’s relatives called me at 23.00 on April 23. I registered myself as Altynbek's advocate and arrived at the Finpol office. By the time I met him he had been 11 hours in custody. A detention report had to be compiled within the first three hours after the arrest as provided by Article 134 of the Kazakhstan criminal code, what had not been done. I could not properly talk to him. He only said he felt bad and was not capable of speaking to me citing a heartache. He asked to call the doctor. His arms were in bruises. They told these were from handcuffs to what I responded that such bruises can not be caused by handcuffs.

Doctors came and measured his blood pressure at 140. After an attempt to reduce it it went down to 130. After 10 minutes the blood pressure increased again. Medics said he needed a hospital stay. So, in the company of two finpol officers Altynbek was taken to hospital.

As no detention protocol had been compiled the escort was unlawful.  The next day I applied to the prosecutor’s office highlighting the illegal arrest of my client in the statement. I will struggle to get a probe initiated as per Article 346 (Illegal arrest).”