Location: Uralsk, West Kazakhstan Region (2024-2025) 🇰🇿
The Story: Elvira Erkebayeva suffered horrific domestic violence for over two decades at the hands of her former husband, including beatings, strangulation, and death threats. After their divorce, he continued to live with and terrorize her. In early 2024, desperate and fearing for her life, she repeatedly begged the police for đź‘®protection, filing multiple restraining orders. The police issued the orders but consistently failed to enforce them. With the system offering no real safety, Erkebayeva, in a state of extreme desperation, allegedly tried to inquire about buying a firearm for self-defense. She never actually acquired a weapon. đźš«
The Twist: Rather than protecting her or arresting her violent abuser, the police launched an undercover operation. An acquaintance she had confided in introduced her to an undercover officer posing as a hitman. Based on this alleged "murder-for-hire plot," police arrested Erkebayeva in February 2024, charging her with conspiracy to commit contract murder,a crime that could bring 15 years to life in prison. Her first trial ended in a mistrial in May 2025 because several jurors were themselves survivors of domestic violence, and the court feared they would be biased in her favor. A retrial is now proceeding. The ultimate injustice is this chilling reversal: a survivor who sought state protection is now being prosecuted by the state for a desperate act born from the state's own systemic failure. đź’ˇ