In Kazakhstan, a ‘storm’ over domestic violence after minister killed wife

The former economy chief’s livestreamed trial, for beating 31-year-old Saltanat Nukenova to death, has gripped the nation and its neighbours.

Warning: This article contains details of violent domestic abuse that some may find upsetting.

On November 9 last year, in the VIP room of a restaurant in Kazakhstan’s largest city, Almaty, Saltanat Nukenova was beaten to death by former minister Kuandyk Bishimbayev, her husband.

Surveillance footage shows him viciously punching and kicking Nukenova in the restaurant, which is owned by his family, before dragging her by the hair to a separate room, where there were no cameras.

As she lay dying in the suite, covered in her blood, Bishimbayev phoned a fortune-teller, who assured him his wife would be fine. When an ambulance finally arrived 12 hours later, Nukenova was pronounced dead at the scene. She was 31 years old.

Bishimbayev, 44, has admitted guilt. He has acknowledged causing her death, but said he had not acted “with exceptional cruelty”, which is what he has been charged with.

The ongoing murder trial, which is being livestreamed over social media like a dark reality show, has gripped not only Kazakhstan but also Russia and beyond and led to debate about traditional gender roles.

According to the United Nations, about 400 women die from domestic abuse in the country each year. This figure could be higher, however, as some cases go unreported.

“In Kazakhstan, there has been a storm, and now the whole country and even the whole world is involved,” Dinara Smailova, founder of the women’s rights NGO NeMolchi, which means Don’t Be Silent, told Al Jazeera.

“We’ve been working with high-profile cases for many years, and we see how people are afraid and ashamed to talk about