The CCTV footage showing former Kazakhastan Minister Kuandyk Bishimbayev brutally assaulting wife Saltanat Nukenova has sparked widespread outrage.
Bishimbayev’s trial was the first in the country of over 19 million people to be streamed online and the CCTV chilling footage was streamed in the court.
In the video, 44-year-old Kazakhstan’s former economy minister is seen dragging his wife by her hair, and then punching and kicking her. She died of brain trauma after an alleged 8-hour attack.
Nukenova, 31, was found dead in November in a restaurant owned by one of her husband’s relatives. Bishimbayev, who was charged with torturing and killing her, for weeks maintained his innocence but admitted Wednesday in court that he had beaten her and “unintentionally” caused her death.
Days after Nukenova’s death, her relatives launched an online petition urging authorities to pass a new law to bolster protection for those at risk of domestic violence. It quickly got over 150,000 signatures.
On April 11, senators approved a bill toughening spousal abuse laws, and President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev signed it four days later. It was dubbed "Saltanat's Law".
