«Let it be on their conscience,» the former mayor of Bishkek Kubanychbek Kulmatov said in a court today. He refused to testify and made a statement.
Criminal proceedings against the former mayors of Bishkek Kubanychbek Kulmatov and Albek Ibraimov are ongoing in the Leninsky District Court of the capital.
It was planned to interrogate the accused ex-mayor Kubanychbek Kulmatov on the episode with construction of a school in Kalys-Ordo housing estate. However, he used his right and refused to testify.
In his statement, Kubanychbek Kulmatov noted that the absurdity of the accusation was obvious, and there was not a single person in the hall who did not understand what was happening. He believes that it is unnecessary to prove innocence.
«I want to say the common truth that everyone should understand. This is the foundation of the judicial system. The rule of law must be respected in criminal proceedings, according to which human rights and freedoms are recognized as the highest values. Authorized officials — courts, prosecutors, investigators — must comply with the provisions of the Constitution and laws. Unfortunately, we declare one thing, and life shows another. Such principles as respect for honor and dignity, personal integrity, protection of human rights and freedoms remain on paper in criminal proceedings, like in our case,» said the former mayor.
The investigation, and then the prosecution authorities simply spat out our case. Let it be on their conscience.
Kubanychbek Kulmatov
He noted that the investigation was conducted with huge violations.
«We talked about this repeatedly, I don’t want to repeat. You, court, know all this. The system of checks and balances on the part of the prosecutor’s office, which upheld the illegal and unfounded accusation, didn’t work,» the ex-mayor stressed.
He stated that the rehearsed testimonies of witnesses and experts were in doubt.
«They are unfounded and empty. And you, the court, are witnesses to this. It was funny to hear their testimony, most of which was: I don’t know, I can’t answer. And they formed the basis of our accusation,» added Kubanychbek Kulmatov.
«Completely different thing scares me. We have witnessed the fact when false and unfounded accusations were directly made. Who gave them this power, who guaranteed them that there would be nothing, there will be no responsibility? All speculation is there, but no one reacts. This is very alarming for me,» he explained.
Kubanychbek Kulmatov added that the defendants did not see an impartial and objective trial.
«However, I will not make excuses. The school stands. Everything that these people who are on the dock now did was made from the heart. You can imprison us, but we are free with our hearts and souls,» he said.
According to investigators, in 2014, Kubanychbek Kulmatov, being the mayor of Bishkek, illegally used $ 2 million grant funds allocated by TBEA for construction of an educational institution in Kalys-Ordo housing estate.
The fourteen accused, including Kubanychbek Kulmatov and Albek Ibraimov, are charged with corruption. Only five are in custody. According to the investigation, ex-officials deliberately overstated the volume of construction work and materials for a total of 12,160,641 soms. Albek Ibraimov is also accused of embezzlement of the funds of TNC Dastan and corruption in providing municipal land plots for use by individuals and legal entities. None of them pleaded guilty. Kubanychbek Kulmatov called the case fabricated.
