A high-profile trial in Ekibastuz has concluded with a 20-year-old student, who also worked as a coach at a rehabilitation center, being found guilty of cruelty towards a child with special needs. However, he was immediately released from punishment under an amnesty, reports infohub.kz.
The incident occurred at the rehabilitation center where the defendant, a student at the local college's physical education and sports department, conducted classes with children. CCTV footage shows the young man roughly dragging a girl by the arm and striking her on the head. As a result, doctors diagnosed the child with a serious injury.
During the court hearing, the defendant pleaded not guilty, claiming he had no intention to harm. He explained that the blow was reflexive because the girl bit him. "I also want to say that I, as a person, understand that the child - Ailana - she has special needs, that she is a small child. And I have awareness, and I would never in my life intentionally, deliberately, harm her or deliberately slap her on the cheeks, as Ailana's mother says. It was a reflexive movement because she bit me. And I didn't expect it myself," the defendant stated.
The state prosecutor requested a sentence of one year of restricted freedom and a two-year ban on teaching activities. The victim's side demanded 10 million tenge in moral damages. However, the court, after hearing all parties, ruled differently. "The court finds [the defendant] guilty of the crime under Article 140, Part 2 of the Criminal Code of Kazakhstan and sentences him to one year of restricted freedom, with deprivation of the right to hold pedagogical positions related to work with minors for a term of 3 years. Based on subparagraph 1, paragraph 1 and 4, Article 1 of the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated July 1, 2026, on amnesty in connection with the adoption of the new Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan, release [him] from the main punishment," read the judge of the specialized inter-district court for juvenile cases of Pavlodar region, Zhuldyz Kamalova.
Additionally, the court ordered the payment of moral compensation in the amount of 500,000 tenge instead of the requested 10 million, as well as covering the victim's legal expenses. The girl's parents expressed disagreement with the verdict, considering it too lenient. According to the mother, after the incident, the child suffered a developmental regression, and all the family's efforts invested in rehabilitation were in vain. "Regarding moral damages, honestly, I cannot assess my daughter's suffering, which she endured, at such a sum - 500 thousand tenge. I am not entirely satisfied with that part. Also, she is afraid of unfamiliar men, starts to get nervous, runs away, and sleep problems are also relevant today," said the mother of the injured girl, Samal Nurashova.
The investigation lasted eight months, and the family's legal costs exceeded 1.3 million tenge. The question of filing an appeal has not yet been decided.