An Astana court has concluded closing arguments in the case of the death of paramedic Uldana Myrzuan. The defendant, Saule Zhubaniyazova, chair of a homeowners' association (OSI), declared her innocence, while her defense lawyer demanded an acquittal, infohub.kz reports.
"If I had known about the danger, would I not have taken action?" the defendant asked the court. During the arguments, she expressed condolences to the victim's family, denied guilt, and stressed that she could not have known about hidden defects in the building.
"I want to say, referring to the law on housing relations, that it does not require the chair to have specialized education — neither in housing and utilities nor in construction. The chair is simply elected from among the property owners or their relatives," Zhubaniyazova said.
She noted that at the time of the tragedy she had headed the OSI for only six months, and that inspection reports from previous years had not been handed over to her.
"The one-year deadline for conducting a scheduled inspection had not yet expired, and therefore there are no violations on my part. I did conduct an inspection, but it was not formalized in a report. However, even if it had been, it would not have affected what happened," the defendant stressed.
In conclusion, Saule Zhubaniyazova said that she herself lives in the building and is no less interested in its safety than anyone else.
"I live there myself, my loved ones live there. My children, my mother, and I myself could have been harmed in this tragedy. If I had known about the danger, would I not have taken action? Your Honor, I consider myself innocent and believe that you will make a fair decision," Zhubaniyazova concluded.
The defense is seeking an acquittal. The defendant's lawyer, Dauren Yeslembekuly, argued during closing arguments that the prosecution had not provided evidence of the OSI chair's guilt and urged the court to return a not-guilty verdict.
"The materials examined by the court contain significant information about long-standing structural and construction defects in the building. The prosecution has not proven that my client could have identified these defects on her own," he said.
The lawyer also alleged violations of his client's rights during the pre-trial investigation.
"A person can be found guilty not because it is more convenient to explain what happened that way... but only because their own guilt has been proven by admissible, reliable, and sufficient evidence. No such evidence has been presented to the court. I ask the court to issue an acquittal," Yeslembekuly concluded.
Recall that chairs of Astana OSIs came to Zhubaniyazova's defense, citing a systemic problem of unsafe facades in new buildings, the repair of which is estimated at hundreds of millions of tenge and is unaffordable for residents.
Later, the victims demanded that more than 45 million tenge be recovered from the OSI chair. That is the amount they assessed for their material and moral damages. However, the defendant rejected the guilt and the claims filed.
Earlier, Kursiv reported that prosecutor Serikova requested two years of restricted freedom for the OSI chair. Uldana Murzuan's mother refused monetary compensation and asked that Zhubaniyazova be given a punishment not involving imprisonment. The deceased woman's former husband left the decision to the court's discretion.