"Adyrna" portal reported that a verdict was issued in absentia in the trial of the LRT case during the session of the specialized inter-district court for criminal cases of Astana.
At the court session, judge Victoria Semenova explained that Ardan and Sultanbekov were sentenced in absentia because they were outside Kazakhstan and they were avoiding appearing in court.
"The court sentenced Kanat Sultanbekov to be found not guilty under Article 235, part 3 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the 1997 version and to acquit him for the fact that he was not proven to have committed a crime. Kanat Sultanbekov Article 28, Part 3, Article 189, Clause 2 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan to be found guilty of committing a crime and to be sentenced to 7 years of imprisonment with lifelong disqualification from public service, judgeship and local self-government bodies.
Ardan Talgat should be declared innocent under part 3 of Article 262 of the 1997 version of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan and be acquitted for not having committed a crime. To be found guilty of the crime committed under Article 189, Part 4, Clause 2 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan, and to be sentenced to 7 years of imprisonment with lifetime deprivation of the right to hold positions in public service, judges, and local self-government bodies, said judge Victoria Semenova.
Let's remind that the trial on the LRT case started in the fall of 2020 in Astana. Among the defendants are seven people accused of embezzling 5.8 billions tenge.
