Kazakh activist dies after being shot in Kyiv

Kazakh activist Aydos Sadykov died in Kyiv on Tuesday nearly two weeks after being shot outside his home in Ukraine, where he had been granted asylum, his wife said.

Natalia Sadykova blamed Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev for the death of her husband -- an outspoken critic of the Central Asian country's leadership.

"Aydos Sadykov passed away today at 3:00 Kyiv time," Sadykova wrote on social media.

"My beloved husband, father of our three children, great son of the Kazakh people. Aydos dedicated his life to Kazakhstan and suffered martyrdom at the hands of killers," she added.

The Ukrainian Prosecutor General's Office said it was reclassifying the crime as a contract killing and with prior conspiracy by a group of people.

Sadykova was in the car with her husband when he was shot by two men who, according to Ukrainian prosecutors, had "carefully planned the murder" and then escaped to Moldova.

"For 13 days Aydos fought for his life in intensive care, but no miracle happened. His death is on Tokayev's conscience," Sadykova said on Facebook.

Tokayev commented on the crime a day afterward, saying Kazakh official bodies were ready to take part in the investigation.

Ukraine said last month it had identified two suspects, both Kazakh citizens, who had fled to neighbouring Moldova.

Ukrainian prosecutors said the suspects arrived from Poland and rented a flat and bought a car. They spent time watching the victim and the routes he took.

Kazakh prosecutors have since said that one of the suspects had given himself up to police in Kazakhstan and had been detained.

Ukraine said last week it was preparing an application for the extradition of both the suspects from Kazakhstan.

But the speaker of the Kazakh Senate, Maulen Ashimbayev, told journalists that Kazakhstan does not hand over its citizens to other countries.

He said Kazakhstan was cooperating with Ukrainian investigators and that "any statements that Kazakhstan had an interest in eliminating the journalist absolutely do not correspond to reality".

Sadykov was granted asylum in Ukraine in 2014.

Human Rights Watch called for an investigation into the shooting.

"The news of the attack on Sadykov during broad daylight in the Kyiv city centre is deeply disturbing," said Hugh Williamson, Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch.