Question Without Answers

It’s been 6 months, since the eruption of the Almaty tragedy.  But, so far no clear answers have been given to President Tokayev’s principal question – How come the state was asleep at the switch and missed the covert preparation of terrorist attacks and the existence of sleeper cells.

Training camps of the terrorists were located in the foothills of the Trans-Ily Alatau Mountain Range.  The former leadership of the National Security Committee kept that concealed – Yermuhamet Yertisbayev, former advisor to the First President said.

It turns out that there were training camps operating for several years. National Security Committee, would, once in a while, eliminate terrorist groups, but they were silent about those numerous camps. That is a monstrous lese majesty,

Yertisbayev said.

Chingiz Lepsibayev, Head of Eurasian Expert Council does not exclude that, as well.

“We know with absolute confidence, that those camps were in the mountains in Almaty Region.  There is a vast foothill belt there, guarded by troops reporting to the National Security Committee.  Which means, that if we suppose that Almaty sustained a terrorist assault, that was the only place to start the offensive from.  There would be no other location possible” – he said in an interview to the MK newspaper.

If experts state that terrorist bases operated in Almaty foothill belt for many years, we have another logical question – what is in common between the Aksay murders and arson and the January events in Almaty?

Who Was Interested in the Murder of the Forestry Guard and His Family?

Let us be reminded than on 12 August 2012 six bodies were found in the territory of the Forestry Post#4 in Aksay Cove of the Ile-Alatau National Park.

Crime-scene forensic team identified that those victims were Panayot Zaharopulo, the Forestry Guard, his spouse and four more individuals, including two relatives and two ground technicians.  All victims died from numerous stabs. Zaharopulo’s son, Igor, vanished

On the same day, the house of another Forestry Guard was put on fire 25 kilometers away from the Zaharopulo murder scene.  That was in the territory of the Forestry Post #3.  Police found bodies of five individuals.  And there was a vanished person, as well – Svetlana Turscheva …

Investigation put forward a supposition that religious radicals committed that crime.  In the course of the territory walk-over, police found a shelter trench and a weapons cache of the terrorists.  Later, in the course of a special operation in the Baganashil and Tausamali villages of Almaty region, police eliminated the majority of terrorists.  Two of them managed to flea.  Later one of them – Sayan Hairov, follower of the Salafist ideology, was extradited to Kazakhstan and imprisoned for 11 years. 

Could One Man Run a Mass Butchery?

Yelena Kvasnevskaya, sister of the vanished Svetlana Turischeva still hopes that her sister is alive.

— Under ruins they found the scorched bones of my sister’s spouse Dmitry Turischev, my 15-year old niece and three more persons.  They did not find my sister’s bones.  The primary supposition that she ran away into the mountains …

The house in the territory of the Post #3 belonged to the Forestry Guard – Uncle Liosha.  The house is located 25 kilometers from the Zaharopulo House. When I saw the burnt remains of the house and human bones, I could not believe it.  Police gathered them into the sacks and took with them for forensic analysis.

My sister Svetlana was an often guest to that Post.  On that day, they were mowing grass and feeding rabbits.  As far as I know, they were supposed to return to the city that day.

Then, many suppositions were made.  One of them was that it was Panayot’s son who murdered all victims.  The then Minister of Internal Affairs Kalmuhanbet Kasymov reported to Mass Media that it was a domestic homicide.  One person would not be able to run a mass butchery.  They also put forward a supposition that Svetlana ran away from the crime scene with the vanished Panayot’s son. I did not trust it.  My sister did not know Igor (Panayot’s son).  We spent a lot of time and effort seeking her.  Police now think that herself and her husband could have seen something and for that those terrorists killed them.

It happened late at night, when they all were asleep.  Nothing valuable was stolen from the crime scene.  Police found burnt remains of some documents, a wallet with some cash and my son’s photo-camera. That is why, it was not a homicide for the purpose of robbery.

Murderers did not steal anything from the Zaharopulo house.  Valuable belongings, a solid sum of cash and hunting guns stayed as they were.  Police reported that inside a safe-locker they found USD 12,600 and KZT 500,000.  A 12-gauge and a 16-gauge hunting shotguns, ammo, two neck-laces and some documents were found, as well. 

Who Really Killed People in Aksay Cove?

Zaharopulos and Turischevs were not only murder victims.  Police found bodies of a monk, a cottager and an old lady who was in the territory of a children recreation camp.  There were more victims, but they swept it under the rug.  They just found one terrorist and made him guilty for all murders.

Sayan Kairov was a Salafist radical, and the only survivor in the Baganashil shootout with police.  In the course of the shootout all terrorists were eliminated, and Hairov was the only one brought into the court. 

We know that he comes from Uralsk.  Together with accomplices from a religious radical group, he smuggled Saiga horns, and profits were used to buy weapons and ammo.

Hairov’s involvement in the Aksay Butchery was never proven in court, as KTK Television Channel report.  He was convicted for other offences, including being a member of a terrorist group.

So, who was it who killed people in the Aksay Cove? What was the motive? Why did SWAT eliminate all terrorists in Baganashil?  Could they not just arrest them and then interrogate them to reconstruct the crime?  What may be in common between murders in Aksay Cove and January 2022 events?

Border Post Mystery

Meanwhile, life-time convict Vladislav Chelah who was accused of the murder of his fellow-soldiers in the Arkan-Kergen Border Post filed an application of reconsideration of his case.

Several years ago, he reported that the Post sustained an attack.  Russian website Lenta.ru wrote about that with a reference made to Chelah’s lawyer, who said that his defendant resumed insisting on his first testimony about an attack on the post.

Tulegen Berlikozhanov, Chelah’s lawyer communicated some details of his talks with Chelah.

“That post sustained a shock attack from outside.  Gun shots were heard.  Vladslav was in that Post, when Sergeant Aganas came inside telling that the post was under attack.  Soldiers began running for their lives.  Vladislav found himself a place to hide somewhere in that vicinity.  When he returned, there were dead bodies there”.

The court made Chelah guilty and issued a life-time detention sentence.

We hope that in New Kazakhstan, the Prosecution General will finally make sense of it.