Kazakh opposition activist injured in assassination attempt in Kyiv.

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An unidentified person opened fire against Aidos Sadykov, a Kazakh opposition activist and journalist based in Ukraine, in Kyiv on June 18, the Ukrainian media and Sadykov's wife said. The attacker approached a car parked in the Shevchenkivskyi district of Kyiv with a couple inside, then shot the man and fled, according to Ukraine's National Police. The woman was not injured, the police said.

The man was hospitalized in serious condition, the Prosecutor General's Office said. While prosecutors and police did not disclose his name, Ukrainian media outlet NV reported, citing unnamed sources, that the victim was Aidos Sadykov. The activist's wife, Natalya Sadykova, confirmed the information and said that the assassination attempt took place near the couple's home.

The activist's wife, Natalya Sadykova, said that the attack took place near the couple's home. (Prosecutor General's Office)

Aidos Sadykov and his wife Natalya Sadykova fled Kazakhstan and were granted political asylum in Ukraine in 2014.

The couple founded the Base YouTube channel, which is critical of the Kazakh government and oligarchs and has over 1 million subscribers. Until 2010, Sadykov was the leader of one of the branches of the opposition party Azat in Kazakhstan. He then founded the Gastat movement and organized actions in defense of civil and political rights, according to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RLE).

The Kazakh court sentenced the activist to two years in prison for "resisting the police," while the couple called the case politically motivated.

Aidos and Natalya Sadykov have been placed on Kazakhstan's wanted list in October 2023.

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