Kazakh Journalist Aidos Sadykov Dies in Ukraine Amid Investigation

Kazakh journalist and government critic Aidos Sadykov died in Ukraine less than two weeks after being shot by suspected Kazakh nationals. One suspect has turned himself in, while the second remains at large. The Kazakh government has expressed willingness to cooperate with Ukrainian authorities in the investigation.

Kazakh journalist and government critic Aidos Sadykov died in Ukraine on Tuesday, his wife said, less than two weeks after being shot by people who Kyiv believes were Kazakh nationals. One of the suspects has since turned himself in back in Kazakhstan, and Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has said his government is ready to cooperate with the Ukrainian authorities in investigating the crime.

Sadykov and his wife Natalya Sadykova have lived in Ukraine since 2014 and have run online media which was often critical of Kazakhstan's former president Nursultan Nazarbayev and subsequently his successor Tokayev. According to the office of Ukraine's prosecutor general, two Kazakh citizens, one of them a former policeman, are suspected of shooting Sadykov in the head on June 18. Both left the country on the same day.

While Kazakhstan has detained one of the suspects, it has said it would not hand him over to Ukraine. The second suspect remains at large.