A court in Shymkent has delivered its verdict in the high-profile kidnapping and murder case of 40-year-old wrestling master of sport Vasily Kolesnikov, who was abducted following a mass brawl on a road, infohub.kz reports.
Attorney Talgat Yesimov, representing the victim's side, said in his Telegram channel that the six defendants were sentenced to between 20 and 23 years in prison.
One defendant received 23 years, two others were sentenced to 22 years each, and the remaining three received 21, 20.5 and 20 years respectively. Two more suspects remain at large.
According to a Kazinform correspondent, after the verdict was announced Judge Abinur Karabayev noted that three of the convicted men had previously faced criminal charges, which is why they received harsher sentences.
The court also partially upheld a civil claim filed by victim Maksat Koshkenbayev, who was in the car with Vasily Kolesnikov and suffered serious injuries during the attack. The total compensation for moral damages amounted to 10 million tenge.
Recall that in January a video of a traffic accident in Shymkent spread online, escalating into a mass brawl with a fatal outcome. It was reported that after two cars collided, a third vehicle joined the conflict. As a result, one man sustained numerous stab wounds, and another was forcibly taken out of the city, where his body was later found.
The city health department said a patient born in 1990 was brought to City Clinical Hospital No. 1 in serious condition. He was diagnosed with a penetrating knife wound to the left chest cavity and underwent emergency surgery. The victim was placed in intensive care.
In August, the trial began in the high-profile murder case of wrestling master of sport Vasily Kolesnikov. Six people were in the dock.