Ukrainian Authorities Charge Suspects With Murder Following Kazakh Activist’s Death [Video]

The Ukrainian Prosecutor-General’s Office said on July 2 that it plans to change the charge against two Kazakh men from attempted murder to murder after an outspoken critic of the Kazakh government, journalist Aidos Sadyqov died in hospital hours earlier after being shot in Kyiv on June 18.

“Currently, law enforcement agencies are working on changing the previous charge of attempted murder into a charge of premeditated murder and group conspiracy to commit murder,” the office said in a statement.

Earlier in the day, Sadyqov’s wife Natalya Sadyqova wrote on Facebook that her husband, who had been hospitalized in intensive care since the shooting two weeks ago, died following complications.

Sadyqov, who had gained a wide following on social media among disaffected Kazakhs, moved to Kyiv in 2014 along with his family after Kazakh authorities launched a slander investigation into Natalya Sadyqova, a journalist for the independent Respublika newspaper.