Rysqulbekov was arrested on 1 January 1987 on the basis of his presence in a photograph taken at 9:30 am on the corner of Furmanov Street and Abai Avenue.
The other people in the photo were identified as Tugelbai Tashenov, Dzambylbek Taijumaev, Ertai Kobespaev, and Kaiyrgeldy Kuzembaev.
Kuzembaev, who lived to see independence, recalled reuniting with Rysqulbekov at the Supreme Court of the Kazakh SSR and Ryskulbekov telling him that he had been tricked into falsely confessing to the murder of radio operator Sergey Savitsky and the assault of a militiaman.
Rysqulbekov told his family and friends the confession was false and that he had made it only because he would almost certainly be sentenced to death if he didn't confess and receive a reduced sentence.
However, despite his confession, he was still sentenced to death at his trial.

Rysqulbekov openly admitted to attacking several police officers who had been beating young Kazakh women with batons, but insisted he used minimal force and never killed any police officers.
He stated he acted on his feelings that no man should stand by while women were being beaten, and read out a poem requesting the prosecutor to be fair and take into account the fact he believed the protests would be peaceful.
On 16 June 1987, Rysqulbekov was sentenced to death by shooting at the Supreme Court of the Kazakh SSR for the murder, in addition to prison time for his participation in the protests.

On 23 April 1988, his sentence was reduced to 20 years in prison, and he was eventually incarcerated at Semipalatinsk prison.
Not long into his sentence on 21 May 1988, Rysqulbekov was found dead in his prison cell.
The official cause of death at the time was determined to be suicide by hanging, but questions remained about the circumstances of his death.
Rysqulbekov's cellmate, Leonid Vlasenko, allegedly confessed to murdering Rysqulbekov on the orders of the Ministry of Internal Affairs via a letter to the newspaper Irtysh, but there are no records of the letter and the newspaper later denied ever receiving such a letter.

Rysqulbekov was buried in Semey.
His family was not allowed to bury him in his birthplace of Birlik.

On 21 February 1992, Rysqulbekov was posthumously rehabilitated and on 9 December 1996 he was declared a Hero of Kazakhstan by decree of Nursultan Nazarbayev.
Rysqulbekov was arrested on 1 January 1987 on the basis of his presence in a photograph taken at 9:30 am on the corner of Furmanov Street and Abai Avenue. The other people in the photo were identified as Tugelbai Tashenov, Dzambylbek Taijumaev, Ertai Kobespaev, and Kaiyrgeldy Kuzembaev. Kuzembaev, who lived to see independence, recalled reuniting with Rysqulbekov at the Supreme Court of the Kazakh SSR and Ryskulbekov telling him that he had been tricked into falsely confessing to the murder of radio operator Sergey Savitsky and the assault of a militiaman. Rysqulbekov told his family and friends the confession was false and that he had made it only because he would almost certainly be sentenced to death if he didn't confess and receive a reduced sentence. However, despite his confession, he was still sentenced to death at his trial.
Rysqulbekov openly admitted to attacking several police officers who had been beating young Kazakh women with batons, but insisted he used minimal force and never killed any police officers. He stated he acted on his feelings that no man should stand by while women were being beaten, and read out a poem requesting the prosecutor to be fair and take into account the fact he believed the protests would be peaceful. On 16 June 1987, Rysqulbekov was sentenced to death by shooting at the Supreme Court of the Kazakh SSR for the murder, in addition to prison time for his participation in the protests.
On 23 April 1988, his sentence was reduced to 20 years in prison, and he was eventually incarcerated at Semipalatinsk prison. Not long into his sentence on 21 May 1988, Rysqulbekov was found dead in his prison cell. The official cause of death at the time was determined to be suicide by hanging, but questions remained about the circumstances of his death. Rysqulbekov's cellmate, Leonid Vlasenko, allegedly confessed to murdering Rysqulbekov on the orders of the Ministry of Internal Affairs via a letter to the newspaper Irtysh, but there are no records of the letter and the newspaper later denied ever receiving such a letter.
Rysqulbekov was buried in Semey. His family was not allowed to bury him in his birthplace of Birlik.
On 21 February 1992, Rysqulbekov was posthumously rehabilitated and on 9 December 1996 he was declared a Hero of Kazakhstan by decree of Nursultan Nazarbayev.
Qairat Rysqulbekov