Serik Kudebaev, former head of the Almaty region police force, fled to Turkey via Kyrgyzstan in connection with his being placed on the international wanted list. It has been reported Sputnik Kazakhstan.
Serik Kudebaev is accused of abuse of power and torture during the January riots. As the commander of the Almaty region, he left the police building, and then the rebels took up arms from there.
According to the Zhetysu district court judge, it is known that on March 23, Kudebaev crossed the state border of the Republic of Kazakhstan with the Kyrgyz Republic and on the same day flew from Manas airport (Bishkek) to Istanbul.
In connection with this, the judge added that, at the request of the prosecutor, the court decided to put Kudebaev on the international wanted list and change the preventive measure to detention. He also revealed that the police had learned that the former head of the Almaty District Police Department, who was under house arrest, had met with neighbors and relatives and had not seen him since mid-March.
It was stated that Kudebaev stopped going to court after the prosecutor demanded 9 years in prison for him.
In March, former Kazakhstan Defense Minister Murat Bektanov convicted Up to 12 years in prison. In January, Kazakh Prosecutor General Berik Asylov said that Bektanov had “clearly given illegal orders and left military strategic facilities unprotected”. In addition, the former minister was accused of “abuse of power in a war situation”.