Kazakhstani woman arrested in USA after abuse from her husband

A Kazakhstani citizen Ms. Asiya Kushenova has been arrested in the USA for habitation of private property without owner’s consent and using force towards a pregnant woman, Tengrinews reports citing the Kazakhstan Ministry Foreign Affairs.

Ms. Kushenova’s mother Gulsaira Zhunusova, a resident of Kazakhstan, is trying to find her little grandson Tamerlan who has been taken away by the U.S. Social Services after his mother’s arrest. Ms. Kushenova remains under arrest at the Leon County Jail. She is also accused of violation of the U.S. immigration laws. Her hearing is scheduled for August 26. The Kazakhstani will be defended by public defender Mathew Williams.

Ms. Kushenova, according to her mother, left Kazakhstan for the USA in 2010. She got married there and moved to Tallahassee, Florida with her husband. But the family life did not turn out well, as her husband started physically abusing Ms. Kushenova. “My daughter was pregnant at that time, and to save herself and the child she had to move to a local shelter. She gave birth to Tamerlan there,” Ms. Zhunusova told Tengrinews.

The incident of abuse to which Ms. Zhunusova referred happened last summer in Panama City. Asiya and her husband got into a heated argument, when she verbally threatened to kill her husband.

“In response he hit her and injured her head. After that she was taken to a hospital, where she learned that she was pregnant. Meanwhile, her husband told the police that the attack his wife out of self defence because she was attempting to kill him. Later, he withdrew his accusation, but the Immigration services started working into her case, because they found out that Asiya was staying in the States illegally. After she was released, Asiya’s friend took her to her house,” the mother said.

But Asiya’s misfortunes did not end there. Her husband started stalking and threatening her, Ms. Zhunusova said. So her daughter fled Tallahassee. One day she collapsed in the street and was taken to a local shelter, where she later gave birth to a baby boy.

Two weeks ago, Asiya’s mother received a phone call from the daughter’s friends. She learned that her daughter was arrested and the boy was taken away by Social Servies.

“I turned to the Embassy of Kazakhstan in the United States, but they said that they did not know where Asiya and my grandson were. We turned to a lawyer in Houston, who said that Asiya has to be bailed for $1500 or $2000. I do not know the whereabouts of my grandson. According to the American friends of my daughter, he was taken to a different family,” the mother said.

According to the Kazakhstani Ministry, Ms. Kushenova applied for a laissez-passer to return to Kazakhstan. “While the request was granted, the return address of the applicant was absent. Ms. Kushenova’s mother Gulsara Zhunusova was informed about it, but she does not know the exact location of her daughter.

"Ms. Zhunusova requested help from the Kazakhstani Embassy for her daughter in 2013. Considering Ms. Kushenova’s difficult situation in the USA, she was recommended to return to Kazakhstan. However, she flatly refused to return to her home country,” the Ministry explained. Ms. Kushenova’s mother was given a cell phone number of the Kazakhstani Ambassador in the USA to keep in touch about her daughter’s case.

The Ministry said that all the necessary diplomatic and legal help would be given to Ms. Kushenova.