On January 17, an east-Almaty city court in Kaskelen delivered a verdict that found six law enforcement officers guilty of abusing their power and inflicting torture on multiple foreign nationals, including Vikram Ruzakhunov, a prominent Kyrgyz jazz musician. This event was part of the chaotic and deadly incidents that marked Kazakhstan’s ‘Bloody January’ in 2022.
The first month of 2022 saw protests erupting across Kazakhstan, initially sparked by rising gas prices in Zhanaozen. The resulting wave of disorder and violence was particularly intense in Almaty, the country’s biggest city.
During the period of January 5 to 10, 2022, the Kazakh President, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, repeatedly claimed that the unrest was a planned conspiracy involving “20,000 bandits” and foreign fighters. Consequently, Kazakh law enforcement began targeting foreigners.
On January 9, Khabar 24, a Kazakh TV station, broadcasted a video of a man with a battered face confessing to being paid $200 alongside a plane ticket to participate in the Kazakhstan protests. However, this was soon exposed as false information when the man was identified as Vikran Ruzakhunov, a well-known Kyrgyz jazz pianist, in neighboring Kyrgyzstan. Ruzakhunov was released and returned to Kyrgyzstan on January 10.
In a September 2023 interview with Vlast.kz, Ruzakhunov stated that he was advised to remain silent after returning to Bishkek. He suffered broken ribs, lung damage, and a concussion as a result of the torture. However, he decided to speak out and seek justice.
Investigations into the torture cases were initiated in February 2022 but initially made little progress. By September 2022, Ruzakhunov returned to Almaty and identified 10 officers who had assaulted him.
Six policemen, namely Bauyrzhan Sopakov, Arman Shoibekov, Berik Abilbekov, Olzhas Aidarkhanov, Serik Turpanov, and Nursultan Khamitov, were eventually put on trial for torturing 44 officially recognized victims. Despite their conviction and three-year prison sentences, victims and activists claim that justice is still far from achieved.
Ruzakhunov stated that the trial was merely a small step towards justice and highlighted the ongoing struggle for human rights in Kazakhstan. A crowd of police officers outside the court on the verdict day, which Ruzakhunov described as “intimidating”, added to the victims’ dissatisfaction.
Aina Shormanbanbaeva, president of the International Legal Initiative Public Foundation, expressed her concern that only three of her 23 Uzbek clients could participate in the investigation due to deportation and a 5-year entry ban. At least 98 individuals were reportedly tortured, but only 44 were officially recognized as victims.
The chaos of ‘Bloody January’ also saw local citizens being tortured. Alva Omarova, a researcher with International Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR), noted that most complaints about torture did not reach the court, leading to widespread impunity for the perpetrators.
The defendants, and their supporters, were also left unsatisfied by the verdict. They did not admit guilt and claimed that they were following orders during a state of emergency. This case has led to widespread debates on justice and human rights in Kazakhstan.
