Trial over the bus owner that caused the death of 52 Uzbeks begins in Kazakhstan 

The owner of a bus that burned out with 52 passengers from Uzbekistan is tried in the Turkestan region of Kazakhstan, mgorod.kz reports.

“The suspect Ordukhan Mekhdiyev was detained in Uzbekistan on December 1 last year and extradited to Kazakhstan. He is charged with part 4 of Article 348 (poor repair of vehicles, releasing into service of technically faulty vehicles by a person, which resulted in the negligence of the death of two or more persons). On March 23, the pre-trial investigation on charges of Mekhdiyev was brought to the court of Saryagash district in the Turkestan region,” regional deputy prosecutor of Turkestan Erjan Bulegenov said.

He clarified that a preliminary hearing was held on April 8, the next meeting is scheduled for April 24.

“At the Sarygash district court, it was reported that for examining the interrogation of those already convicted on this case will be conducted online from the colonies, where they are serving their sentences,” the report reads.

If the bus owner is found guilty, Mekhdiyev faces from four to seven years in prison.

It should be recalled that on January 18, 2018, on the Samara – Shymkent highway in the Aktobe region, a Setra passenger bus caught fire, in which 52 Uzbek people were burned alive.

The owner of the bus Mekhdiyev, who was hiding and put on the international wanted list, after his detention on December 1, 2018, was extradited from Uzbekistan to Kazakhstan on December 26.