Ukraine to demand extradition of suspects accused of attempting to assassinate Kazakh journalist

The Prosecutor General's Office is preparing to request the extradition of two suspects accused of attempting to assassinate the Kazakh opposition activist and journalist Aidos Sadykov in Ukraine, the Prosecutor's Office told Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty on June 25.

Sadykov was shot in the head on June 18 by an attacker who approached his car in the central Shevchenkivskyi District of Kyiv. The activist was hospitalized and reportedly remains in serious condition.

"The Prosecutor General's Office is preparing a package of documents to apply to the competent authorities of the Republic of Kazakhstan for the extradition of two persons who are suspected of a particularly serious crime," the office told reporters.

Ukrainian law enforcement agencies suspect two residents of Kazakhstan, Altai Zhakanbayev and Meiram Karatayev, in the attack on Sadykov. Zhakanbayev was detained in Kazakhstan after surrendering to the local police on June 21.

Aidos Sadykov and his wife Natalya Sadykova fled Kazakhstan and were granted political asylum in Ukraine in 2014. The couple founded the Base YouTube channel, which is critical of the Kazakh government and oligarchs and has over 1 million subscribers.

Until 2010, Sadykov was the leader of one of the branches of the opposition party Azat in Kazakhstan. He then founded the Gastat movement and organized actions in defense of civil and political rights, according to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RLE).

The Kazakh court sentenced the activist to two years in prison for "resisting the police" in a case the couple said was politically motivated.

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The Kyiv IndependentMartin Fornusek