On 25 February, the activist Dulat Agadil passed away due to heart failure while in detention in Nur-Sultan. Mr. Agadil had been detained due to suspected violations of the terms of his house arrest, which he had been placed under following charges of contempt of court earlier this year.
A medical investigation concluded that the cause of death was acute cardiovascular failure, and found that there were no injuries on Mr. Agadil’s body. This was confirmed by the four individuals in his cell, who all testified that Mr. Agadil suffered no physical harm while under detention.
Given the high level of public interest, President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev personally reviewed the case, stating that, “I can fully assure people that, unfortunately, the activist [Dulat] Agadil passed away as a result of heart failure. To make any claims counter to this is to go against the truth.” The President further noted that “no matter what his views, he was primarily a human being.”
The sudden death of civil activist Dulat Agadil, who was a participant in many protests, caused a wide resonance across Kazakhstan. At the beginning of March, a wave of rallies took place in the country. The supporters of Agadil said the authorities of Kazakhstan were allegedly behind the death of the activist. However, the investigation revealed that Dulat Agadil died due to heart failure.
Since inauguration, President Tokayev has been positioning Kazakhstan as the ‘hearing state’. The President has announced a series of domestic, social, economic and political policies aimed at improving the quality of life for citizens of Kazakhstan. In particular, the National Council of Public Trust have been established as platforms in which wider society can discuss different views and strengthen the national conversation regarding government policies and reforms.
In an effort to increase public safety, President Tokayev has strengthened the penalties for those who commit serious crimes, including sexual violence, drug trafficking, human trafficking, driving vehicles after drinking all types of alcohol, poaching, violence towards park rangers, domestic violence against women and serious crimes against individuals, especially children.