PROSECUTORS SEEK DEATH PENALTY IN TRIAL FOR MURDER OF KAZAKH

Prosecutors have asked for the death penalty for Erzhan Utembaev, former head of the administration of Kazakhstan's Senate, and Rustam Ibragimov, a former law-enforcement officer, for their alleged roles in the murder of Kazakh opposition leader Altynbek Sarsenbaev and two aides, Interfax-Kazakhstan reported on August 10.
Utembaev is charged with paying Ibragimov to kill Sarsenbaev, his driver, and bodyguard. Recanting earlier confessions they say were coerced, the two have pleaded not guilty to the charges. Also on August 10, presiding judge Lukmat Merekenov rejected a request by lawyers representing the victims to question Utembaev and Ibragimov, Navigator reported, citing information from the
opposition party Naghyz Ak Zhol. In response, all representatives of the victims left the courtroom in protest.