The facts, as laid out by the court, were horrifying. The country's former economy minister had beaten Saltanat Nukenova to death in an assault that was partly in plain view of CCTV cameras.

During a recent court hearing, 44-year-old Kuandyk Bishimbayev, who previously served as the economy minister, was shown in surveillance footage beating his wife, Saltanat Nukenova, for eight hours.