Former serviceman Yerbayan Mukhtar, 23, of the National Guard, died on 23 June 2026. Since 2023, he had been in a critical condition following a severe traumatic brain injury sustained during his compulsory military service.
WHAT THE MINISTRY SAID
According to the Ministry of Health and the National Coordination Centre for Emergency Medicine, doctors had kept the patient alive for nearly three years.
The severe injuries sustained led to irreversible brain damage, and the patient’s condition remained critical for a long period.
YERBAYAN’S CONDITION
After suffering the severe traumatic brain injury, the patient remained in a persistent vegetative state.
Despite intensive therapy and respiratory support, doctors recorded a deterioration in vital signs, including a drop in blood oxygen saturation, heart rhythm disturbances and haemodynamic instability. Yerbayan’s condition remained critical.
WHAT TREATMENT THE DOCTORS PROVIDED
Medical specialists carried out the full range of necessary resuscitation and treatment procedures.
It was also reported that, through the efforts of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in conjunction with the Ministry of Health, the patient was sent for treatment to Turkey, where the initial diagnosis was confirmed.
Yerbayan was in a ward equipped with modern medical equipment. He received drug therapy and special care arrangements were made. Relatives were given access to the ward.
WHAT CAUSED THE DEATH
According to the authorities, in June 2026, against the background of his severe underlying illness, he developed infectious complications, sepsis and multiple organ dysfunction syndrome.
Biological death was declared on 23 June 2026 at 21:40. The immediate cause of death, as stated in the report, was multiple organ dysfunction syndrome, which developed as a result of the severe consequences of the traumatic brain injury and additional complications.
WHAT THE FAMILY DISAGREES WITH
According to Yerbayan’s brother, Nauryzbai Sakibayev, at the end of May the young man was hospitalised after a flare-up of pneumonia, but his condition continued to deteriorate, reports Masa Media.
According to the relative, the patient did not receive adequate care. He claims that the tube through which Mukhtar Yerbayan was breathing was blocked with pus, which could have allowed an infection to enter his body.
Nauryzbai Sakibayev also stated that the relatives disagree with the circumstances under which death was declared. He said that when his parents and sister arrived at the hospital, Yerbayan’s body was still warm and the life support machine had been switched off.
On the night of 24 June, the former serviceman’s body was taken to the morgue for an autopsy. According to relatives, they asked for the body to be handed over to the family for burial without a post-mortem examination. Journalists also reported that they had sent a request to the Ministry of Health, as the doctors who treated the patient refused to comment on the situation.
CONTEXT
For context, in December 2023, Yerbayan Mukhtar sustained serious injuries during his compulsory military service when, according to the official version, he fell in the toilet and hit his head.
However, the young man’s family do not believe this. According to them, he was brutally beaten, and numerous injuries were found on Yerbayan’s body which could not have been sustained from a fall from standing height.
Kazakhstanis raised around 320 million tenge for the young man’s treatment and rehabilitation. In the autumn of 2024, he was sent to Turkey for recovery.
