Kazakh Dissident Aidos Sadykov Dies in Kyiv Hospital After June 18 Assassination Attempt

Source: Nataliya Sadykova/Facebook

Kyiv, Ukraine — Aidos Sadykov, a Kazakh émigré and prominent critic of his country’s government, died in a Kyiv hospital on Tuesday after being shot by assassins on June 18. The sad news was announced by Sadykov’s wife, Nataliya, on social media.

“My loving husband, the father of our three children, and a great son of the Kazakh people, gave his life for Kazakhstan, dying as a martyr at the hands of killers. He fought for his life for 13 days, but a miracle never happened,” she wrote.

Ukrainian law enforcement identified two men responsible for the shooting. One of them, Meyram Karatayev, is alleged to be an active Kazakh law enforcement officer. Both suspects fled Ukraine soon after the attack.

“It is on Tokayev’s conscience,” argued Sadykov’s wife, accusing the Kazakh president of being behind the political assassination. On June 19, Tokayev promised that Kazakh officials would “cooperate with the investigation.”