Former Kazakh Health Minister Receives 5-Year Prison Sentence For Abuse Of Power – Court

An Astana court sentenced former Kazakh Health Minister Yelzhan Birtanov to five years in prison on charges of abuse of power, according to a Friday broadcast from the courtroom

ASTANA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik – 28th October, 2022) An Astana court sentenced former Kazakh Health Minister Yelzhan Birtanov to five years in prison on charges of abuse of power, according to a Friday broadcast from the courtroom.

“(The defendant is) found guilty of committing a criminal offense and, under this article (abuse of power), sentenced to five years of imprisonment,” judge Ibrahim Alkenov said.

In July, the Agency for Financial Monitoring of Kazakhstan announced the end of a pre-trial investigation into abuse of power against Birtanov initiated over “accepting and putting into operation a non-working information platform of the Ministry of Health.

” According to the investigation, the costs of the incomplete work reached $4.1 million. During the trial on October 11, the state prosecution asked the court to sentence the ex-minister to six years in prison.

In 2020, Birtanov resigned from his ministerial post citing health reasons. He said that the coronavirus infection that he had suffered from was complicated by pneumonia, and he needed additional treatment. In November of that year, the Agency for Financial Monitoring said Birtanov had been arrested.