Galymbek Bissaev

NAME	Bissaev Galymbek
DOB	45 years old
Place of residence	Kazakhstan, Almaty
Location of Incident	Kazakhstan, Almaty
Citizenship	Kazakhstan
Applicant	Bissaev Galymbek
Kinship	Self
Citizenship	Kazakhstan

Galymbek Bisayev, a 45-year-old resident of Zhambyl District, Almaty Oblast, together with fellow villagers, learned about the peaceful protest that began in the city on January 5. A group of people from Karakastek headed to the city.

“At about two o’clock in the afternoon we went to the intersection of Tole bi – Seifullin streets. There were a lot of people. Police periodically used stun grenades and tear gas, and when there were a lot of people, the police began to retreat. They fled, throwing boxes of grenades and weapons unattended. And all this fell into the hands of some protesters,” Galymbek recalls the events of January 5.

At this time, crowds of people flocked to this place – one from the side of Sayahat, the other part – from the side of Saina Avenue. The crowd rushed towards the mountains. Galymbek followed the crowd, which wanted to express its complaints and demands to the authorities. He says no shops were robbed on the way.

“On the contrary, people themselves lined up in front of the shops, guarded so as not to touch anything, walked on.”

“The first thing I saw on the square was the burning third floor of the akimat. There was no representative from the people who would express the demands, but no one from the authorities came out to the crowd. I filmed myself. I did not send it to anyone, and then deleted it,” the man recalls.

Galymbek decided to return home when he became convinced that a peaceful rally was turning into a riot.

“On the way back from somewhere on the side of the residence, sounds of a shootout were heard. I saw bloodied people who supported each other by the shoulders, helped to stand. ” He returned home after he found fellow villagers.

Galymbek Bisayev with his six children. Photo: from the family archive

Five days later, on the evening of January 10, an armed unit of about 15 people in three cars broke into the house of the Bisayev family, greatly frightening everyone. In front of the children, masked police officers took Galymbek at gunpoint.

In the car, masked officers shouted: “you are hiding something”, “where are your videos”, “go out and run”, beat him, hit him on the head.

As soon as he was brought to the police station of Uzynagash (Almaty region, Zhambyl district – editor’s note), he was immediately stripped. According to Bisayev, “a policeman named Alisher took money from his pocket.”

Law enforcement officers led Galymbek into an office and without explaining anything, began to kick, beat him non-stop, jump right on top of him. Officer named Syrym began to scare him with a gun, saying that he would shoot. They beat him on the head with a truncheon and strangled him.

“They forced me to walk in a narrow room without raising my heads, bending over. An investigator named Madiyar put me on a couch in the investigator’s office, brought a knife to my throat, threatened to stab me, strangled me. They broke both of my hands, the fingers of my left hand, five ribs. My legs were bruised and swollen. When I asked, “What is my fault, explain to me the reason,” they said that I was a terrorist, used foul language, insulted me. They forced me to sign, not even allowing me to read what is written on paper,” says Galymbek.

On the first day, the detainee was tortured until 5.00 in the morning, no water or food was given. According to Galymbek, on the afternoon of January 12, he was beaten again. And even when he was bleeding, he was not given medical attention. District police officers “Nariman, Madiyar, Alisher, Syrym” subjected him to severe torture. As evidence of his guilt, he was presented with erased records, which they allegedly restored on his phone. But Galymbek says the video only showed police abandoning boxes of grenades on the street.

Torture in the city

On January 14, six prisoners from Uzynagash were taken to the Almaty Police Department. Among them was Galymbek. On the fourth floor, the operatives, rubbing their palms, waited with pleasure, saying: “The freshmen have arrived.”

“I myself can barely stand, all beaten. But no matter what, they beat me up again. There were six of us in one office, five or six employees tortured us with a stun gun. Young guys were forced to sing, dance. They tortured us until the evening. At sunset, the five guys were released. Apparently, they gave them money. They left me,” the man says.

After a “radical method of investigation,” Galymbek was taken to a temporary detention facility located under the department in the evening. IVS officers refused to accept Galymbek without a medical certificate. The operatives brought him back to the office and handcuffed him to the heating battery.

“Five of them pulled out vodka and drank 3-4 bottles, and then spent the whole night ‘training’, beating everything in a row, kicking.”

“Someone tramples my feet, someone jumps on me with all their weight. All were Kazakh guys. Someone blackmailed me over and over again, put a gun to my forehead and threatened to kill me. And when they entered the fray, everyone competed with each other, telling who, how, by what method they tortured. One said that during an interrogation of a man he “shoved a stun gun into his genitals, and he immediately earned hemorrhoids”, the rest supported him with surprise. When they had finished speaking, they began to beat me, to strangle me with the words: “We must kill him, we must beat him.” They didn’t let me go to the toilet, they didn’t give me water. Among them, the humanity of officer Medet’s should be noted. While another was hitting me, he tried to protect me, sometimes even lying on top of me, protecting me from blows. As he left the office, the others beat me even harder. Morning finally came. The next day I underwent a medical examination and spent four days in prison. There I was put against the wall with my hands raised and beaten on my kidneys, on my ribs. They put me on my knees so that my head touched the ground, and then kicked me with a run.”

Lawlessness in the investigation: the pressure of the investigator and the conspiracy of the state lawyer

Senior investigator Nurdaulet Astanakulov interrogated Bisayev in his office on the fifth floor in the presence of state defender Zhaksylyk Buyekov.

“The lawyer did not take any action after seeing my injuries, a bruised head,” Galymbek said.

According to Bisayev, the state prosecutor gave advice to the investigator, telling him under which article he should be recognized as a suspect. Without consideration of the case, at the behest of Buytekov, charges were brought under Part 2 of Article 272 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan, that is, participation in mass riots. The law provides for punishment in the form of deprivation of liberty for a period of 3 to 8 years.

Orda.kz tried to contact Zhaksylyk Buytekov by phone. He referred to “attorney-client privilege” and demanded that all requests be sent in writing.

“He didn’t even explain when I asked what the article was. When investigator Astanakulov handed me the interrogation protocol to sign, I wrote that I “disagreed.” He took me to another empty office, punched me several times, threatened me, shouting: “What I say, you will do, or I will take you to yesterday’s guys and they will beat you again, you will pass an educational hour.” He wanted to get me to sign the document. I still wrote that I did not agree,” says Galymbek Bissaev.

But on January 18, Astanakulov forcibly forced Galymbek to sign the protocol. On the same day, the man was transferred to the LA155/18 detention centre.

At that time, the public had already become aware of cases of torture within the walls of the police. All this caused a very violent reaction, so the detainees began to be treated more leniently.

“They didn’t beat me so badly, thank God,” Bisayev said.

Attention is drawn to the fact that the prosecutor’s detention orders were issued only on January 17. Lawyers and human rights activists note that in the period from 10 to 17, the number of detentions and torture was similar to a real lawlessness.

Kazakhstan’s “inhumane police” should not remain unpunished!

Due to the severity of the disease and marital status, Galymbek Bissayev was released home on March 10. The investigation of two cases initiated in the status of a suspect and a victim continues. The indictment recently sent to the prosecutor’s office raises many doubts. On the fact of torture, according to the case initiated by anti-cor, so far not a single law enforcement officer has been detained.

Since the day of release, Galymbek has been treated by receipt. Since he does not have health insurance, he is forced to be treated for a fee. To make ends meet in this difficult time, he is helped by relatives and fellow villagers. He recently underwent an independent medical examination.

“Where is the guarantee that medical records in prison will not be distorted? You can expect anything from them. When I was there, my lawyer, as a confidant, filed a complaint with Anti-cor about the torture. The investigator attached medical documents and data from the detention center to the case. At the Almaty Police Department, I recognized three officers who tortured me in a photo,” Galymbek said.

Remembering all his misadventures, Galymbek endlessly thanks God that he survived, despite the fact that he was mercilessly tortured by police in Uzynagash and Almaty.

Bissayev demands full acquittal, the dismissal of unfounded charges against him, and that the police officers who tortured him receive appropriate punishments.

Consequences and anti-cor

After the January incident, as a result of detention and torture by the police, Galymbek Bisayev suffered serious harm to his health: both hands, fingers, several ribs were broken, his head was broken, a wound 10 cm long and a scar mark on his right cheek from the blow remained. The internal organs, kidneys, right shoulder and lower back were badly damaged. The man’s arms and legs still shake, head still hurts. All this was revealed by medical examinations that took place on January 15 in the BSMP and in hospital No. 5.

“The application and response have been received. Officers of the operational-search group were identified by photo. The identification of police officers in Uzynagash will be carried out. Anti-cor opened a criminal case under Part 1 of Article 146 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan. But since this has happened several times and in the presence of several persons, this should be changed to paragraph 3. Serious bodily harm was caused. We consulted an independent medical expert. The written statement, to which the leadership of the SI-18 correctional institution responded, also confirmed the injury received by Galymbek Naimangazievich, who is under protection. We asked the Prosecutor General’s Office to declare illegal the actions of detention, search, arrest, to stop the criminal case as a whole. However, the decision of refusal came. Now we will file a complaint with the investigative court on the basis of Article 106 of the Code of Criminal Procedure,” said Galymbek’s lawyer Zhalgas Saparkhanov.

According to doctors, Galymbek is not yet suitable for work due to health reasons, he needs a long-term comprehensive treatment.

In a family where the head earns bread as a taxi driver, there are eight people. Six of them are children. The eldest is 12 years old, the youngest is 3 years old. Galymbek’s wife is pregnant with her seventh child. They live in a relative’s house. They do not receive targeted social assistance from the state.

“I go to seasonal haymaking. Life has become difficult, I want to run my own farm, they do not give loans, subsidies. My wife is treated badly in the hospital. Honestly, I’m tired. For the first time in my life, I went to rallies, I wanted to say my demands. I’ve lived my life. They (the policemen who tortured – approx. ed.) have nothing to fear, but I am afraid for the children,” Galymbek Bissayev admitted.

It is unknown whether or not the head of the Almaty Police Department, Kanat Taymerdenov, knew his five deputies, for example, Nurlan Almasbekov, Rustam Abdrakhmanov, who constantly monitor social networks, that in the building where they are sitting citizens are tortured with particular cruelty.

In mid-January, Tokayev instructed the Prosecutor General’s Office to “mitigate the punishment of detainees without aggravating circumstances.” Despite the fact that everyone, from the president to the ministers, admitted that the January events were initially peaceful in nature, in fact there was an attempt to turn peaceful protesters into guilty criminals. International organizations and human rights activists call on Akorda and the government to respect human rights in Kazakhstan. But the tortured citizens of the country have not yet been able to achieve the truth.

Source: https://bureau.kz/novosti/menya-izbivali-v-dvuh-otdeleniyah/