A knife-wielding man who took a hostage at Almaty International Airport before being disarmed by a former boxer who grabbed the weapon has been sentenced to 11 years in prison, media in Kazakhstan reported on Wednesday.
Mashrapbek Baratov, 67, was sentenced in an Almaty court for the March 7 incident in which he held an airport employee by her hair and made threats as security officials gathered nearby. He let go of the woman after Musa Abdraim offered himself as a hostage, then disarmed the hostage-taker shortly afterward. Several witnesses filmed the scene with their phone cameras, and the images circulated widely on the internet.
Baratov admitted guilt, and his trial was conducted in a relatively short time. He had been charged with hostage-taking, hooliganism, and intentionally making a false report of a terrorist act, according to Tengri News, a media outlet based in Kazakhstan.
Abdraim won praise for his bold action from Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and the World Boxing Council.
