Played too much with weapons

A marine shot and killed his subordinate, 18-year-old conscript Marat BARKULOV (pictured left), for which he was sentenced to 13 years in prison in January.

In the appellate instance of the Military Court, lawyer Tatyana YAREMCHUK reported that Dosov was not the only one to blame. According to her, the young officer was not properly checked before taking up duty. He did not have a medical examination and did not pass a psychological test. Two mentors assigned to Dosov did not fulfill their duties.

- No one bothered to check his readiness to go on duty on September 7 as required by the charter and rules. I ask you to pay special attention to how the weapon was issued. Dosov claimed that he received one magazine from Mailiev (the brigade chief of staff Bagdat MAILIEV claimed in the court of first instance that he conducted a briefing and Dosov was given two magazines) and there was no briefing, no one explained anything to him, - said Tatyana Yaremchuk.

She asked the court to change the sentence and reclassify Dosov's actions from premeditated murder to Part 2 of Article 462 ("violation of the rules for handling weapons, which resulted in the death of a person through negligence"). It provides for imprisonment for up to five years.

Dosov's mother, Ulbolsyn DUMSHEBAYEVA, said in a tearful voice that the murder was an accident. Her only son was put on duty for several days in a row and given a pistol without being informed about live ammunition. But the appeal of the Military Court left the sentence unchanged, and the defense's complaints were dismissed.

Let us recall that Lieutenant Dosov, 22 years old, killed Barkulov with a shot to the face on September 7 last year at the Oimasha training ground in Mangistau Oblast. Dosov, playing with a pistol on duty, entered a tent where several servicemen were located and saw Barkulov talking on a phone that the officer had given to another soldier.

- The guys were sitting in a tent after a bathhouse, - the father of the deceased, Erbol KUNTINOV, said earlier. - My son was talking on Dosov's phone with a friend. Dosov came in, cursed, raised his weapon and pulled the trigger, but there was no shot. Then he lowered the pistol, took the safety off, reloaded and fired...

Alikhan SULTANOV, Astana