MOSCOW (AP) — Kazakhstan’s Supreme Court on Monday convicted a former government official of torturing and murdering his wife and sentenced him to 24 years in prison in a case that has gripped the Central Asian nation.

During the trial of Kuandyk Bishimbayev, Kazakhstan’s former economy minister, over the death of his wife, Saltanat Nukenova, thousands of people urged the authorities to adopt harsher penalties for domestic violence. Authorities adopted a bill toughening spousal abuse laws.

Kazakhstan largely remains a patriarchal society, and progress has been slow on issues such as domestic violence, sexual harassment and disparities in employment.

Bishimbayev’s trial was the first in the country of over 19 million people to be streamed online, and debates about it dominated social media.

Nukenova, 31, was found dead in November in a restaurant owned by one of her husband’s relatives. The 44-year-old Bishimbayev maintained his innocence before admitting in court last month that he had beaten her and “unintentionally” caused her death. His lawyers initially disputed medical evidence indicating Nukenova died from blows to the head.