In what has become a sensational murder case amid a war, prosecutors in Ukraine are ready to charge two Kazakh nationals with the premeditated killing of a Kazakh émigré and social media influencer outside his Kyiv home.
Aidos Sadykov, a Kazakh opposition activist and operator of the YouTube channel called Base, died on July 2 from a head wound suffered two weeks previously as he drove into the courtyard of his Kyiv apartment building. According to the Kyiv Prosecutor’s Office, two Kazakh citizens have been identified as being “involved in the crime,” which Ukrainian officials have portrayed as a well-planned hit job. The pair of suspects are expected to be charged with premeditated murder and conspiracy to commit murder.
Whether the two suspects actually face justice remains an open question, however. One is in custody in Kazakhstan, but Kazakh officials have declined a Ukrainian extradition request. “Kazakhstan does not extradite its citizens to other states,” Radio Azattyq, the Kazakh-language service of RFE/RL, quoted Senate chairman Maulen Ashimbayev as saying.
According to the findings of the Ukrainian police investigation, the two suspects – identified by officials in Kyiv as Meiram Karataev and Altai Zhakanbaev – arrived in Ukraine on June 2 and conducted surveillance of Sadykov and his wife, Natalya. They carried out the hit on Sadykov on June 18 on the order of an “unidentified person,” Ukrainian authorities allege.
The same day as Sadykov was shot, the two suspects are believed to have fled Ukraine, crossing into Moldova. A few days later, Zhakanbaev turned himself in to law enforcement personnel in Kazakhstan. A subsequent investigation by Radio Azattyq found indications that the suspects might have connections to Kazakh law enforcement and security agencies. Ashimbayev, the Senate chair, vigorously denied to Radio Azattyq that any Kazakh “state bodies” had an interest in seeing Sadykov dead.
Sadykov had a long history of political activism, but his focus was mainly on local issues, the Mediazona-Central Asia outlet reported. Born in northwestern Kazakhstan in 1968, he graduated with a history degree from a pedagogical institute in Aktobe. After unfulfilling stints as an entrepreneur and in the oil sector, he drifted into regional politics and journalism.
In 2003, he faced prosecution for illegal firearms possession and disorderly conduct, charges that he maintained were politically motivated, retaliation for articles he wrote alleging that local officials in Aktobe had connections to an organized criminal group. The court ended up ruling that Sadykov was psychologically unfit to stand trial and ordered that he undergo a comprehensive psychiatric examination.
During the mid-2000s, Sadykov headed the local Aktobe branch of the Azat (Freedom) movement. According to people who knew him at the time, Sadykov was independent-minded and often pursued a course of action apart from the national organization’s priorities, concentrating on local issues. Ultimately, in 2010, he left Azat over his opposition to its merger with the Nationwide Social Democratic Party. He subsequently launched his own political movement.
Also in 2010, Sadykov had another run-in with the justice system. This time, he was charged with disorderly conduct in connection with organizing a rally against the prospect of leasing agricultural land to China. Again, Sadykov denied the charges and said they were politically motivated. But after a brief trial, a court in Aktobe convicted Sadykov and handed down a two-year sentence. After serving about two-thirds of the prison term, Sadykov was released under an amnesty.
In 2014, Natalya Sadykova was accused of defamation by a member of the Kazakh parliament over an article that alleged corrupt practices. Rather than stay and challenge the charge, Sadykov, his wife and their children fled to Ukraine, where they were granted political asylum.
In exile, the couple continued to mix political activism with journalism. They launched the Base YouTube channel, which, over time, gained over 1 million subscribers. Content posted on the channel focused mainly on social and economic developments in Kazakhstan, usually from a viewpoint critical of Kazakh authorities. In 2023, officials in Kazakhstan placed the Sadykovs on a “wanted” list, accusing them of “inciting ethnic hatred.”
Free speech and human rights organizations, including Reporters Without Borders (RSF), have called on Ukraine and Kazakhstan to cooperate in ensuring those responsible for Sadykov’s murder are held to account. “This brutal shooting to silence Kazakh opposition blogger Aydos Sadykov in the center of Kyiv must not go unpunished,” an RSF statement quoted Jeanne Cavelier, head of the organization’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia desk, as saying.
Editor’s note: Portions of this article were adapted from an original Russian-language version posted our content partner Mediazona-Central Asia.
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