For the past two months, millions of Kazakhstanis have been glued to their screens, witnessing a landmark moment in the nation’s history: a murder trial live-streamed on YouTube. This was the trial of Kuandyk Bishimbayev, Kazakhstan’s former economic minister, who was convicted of torturing and killing his wife, Saltanat Nukenova, on November 9, 2023. The brutal CCTV footage of the incident went viral, not just within Kazakhstan but internationally as well. This trial not only highlighted Saltanat Nukenova’s tragic case but also shined a glaring spotlight on Kazakhstan’s chronic issues with domestic violence.

To learn more about the case and its wider significance, Meduza intern Ekaterina Rahr-Bohr and Meduza senior news editor Sam Breazeale spoke to Century College political scientist Dr. Colleen Wood, human rights activist and NeMolchiKZ founder Dinara Smailova, and The Village Kazakhstan editor-in-chief Aleksandra Akanaeva.

Timestamps for this episode:

(6:33) The role of social media and public sentiment
(9:51) The impact of “Saltanat’s law”
(16:41) Broader issues of domestic violence in Kazakhstan
(26:00) The role of NGOs and activists
(28:55) Dinara Smailova’s personal stories
(36:34) The need for systemic changes

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Kazakhstan's landmark murder trial

The Naked Pravda

Kazakhstan's landmark murder trial