The Murder of Al-Beine Zaripova

On January 31, 2024, 42-year-old Al-Beine Zaripova was killed in the Medeu district of Almaty. Police detained her husband, Sabyrzhan Zaripov. The case later produced a murder conviction, a 15-year prison term, and an appellate judgment leaving that sentence unchanged.

Al-Beine Zaripova

Zaripova was a financial professional and the mother of a 12-year-old daughter. Reporting by Orda, Tengrinews and other Kazakh outlets described her as professionally accomplished and documented allegations from relatives that she had experienced years of controlling and abusive behavior in her marriage. Those family accounts provide context, but this dossier does not treat every allegation made outside court as independently proved.

The January 31 killing

According to the prosecution account reported during the proceedings, Zaripova arrived in Almaty from Dubai and returned home with her husband. She was killed later that morning inside the family home. Police opened a homicide investigation, detained Sabyrzhan Zaripov, and placed him in custody.

The criminal case also alleged that after the killing he unlawfully accessed an information system and took 4.7 million tenge. The Specialized Inter-District Criminal Court of Almaty therefore considered both the homicide charge under Article 99 and a separate theft charge.

Dispute over legal classification

The legal classification was contested during the proceedings. Members of Al-Beine Zaripova's family argued publicly that the circumstances warranted a more aggravated murder classification. The case ultimately proceeded as intentional homicide under the provision reported by the Almaty court.

After conviction, Sabyrzhan Zaripov took a different position on appeal: he asked the appellate court to reclassify the killing as homicide committed in a state of passion, a change that could have substantially reduced his punishment. That request was a defense argument, not a judicial finding.

Trial judgment

On September 25, 2024, the Specialized Inter-District Criminal Court in Almaty found Sabyrzhan Zaripov guilty of murdering his wife and of the separate theft offense. Zakon.kz, citing the court, reported a final sentence of 15 years' imprisonment in a medium-security institution. The court also ordered recovery of the 4.7 million tenge material loss and compensation for moral harm to victims recognized in the proceeding.

NUR.KZ independently reported the same 15-year sentence and identified the charges as murder and large-scale theft through unlawful access to an information system.

Appeal

On October 30, 2024, the Almaty appellate panel rejected Zaripov's attempt to have the homicide reclassified as a killing committed in a state of passion. The appellate court left the September 25 judgment and 15-year prison sentence unchanged.

The appellate outcome is important for status classification: this is not a case in which a suspect was merely arrested or charged. A court convicted Zaripov of the killing, and a later appellate court upheld the judgment.

Timeline

1. January 31, 2024
   Al-Beine Zaripova is killed

   Zaripova dies at the family home in Almaty's Medeu district. Police detain her husband and open a homicide investigation.

2. August 2024
   Trial proceedings begin

   The criminal case against Sabyrzhan Zaripov moves into trial in Almaty.

3. September 25, 2024
   Conviction and sentence

   The court convicts Zaripov of murder and theft and imposes a 15-year prison term.

4. October 30, 2024
   Appeal rejected

   The Almaty appellate court refuses to reclassify the killing as homicide committed in a state of passion and leaves the sentence unchanged.

Current status

Solved / Adjudicated. Sabyrzhan Zaripov was convicted of murdering Al-Beine Zaripova and of the separate theft offense. His 15-year sentence was upheld by the Almaty appellate court on October 30, 2024. No later ruling located in this review displaced that documented outcome.