ASTANA -- The wife of a jailed Kazakh minister says her husband is innocent and is being treated unfairly by both the prosecutor's office and the media.
In an interview with RFE/RL's Kazakh Service, Amina Bralieva said that all accusations against her husband, Deputy Minister of Ecology Alzhan Braliev, are groundless.
Braliev was arrested on February 26 on charges of financial misdeeds.
His wife says that since Braliev has never been convicted before and has a family with young children, he could be released while the investigations are under way.
But according to her, the Astana prosecutor has so far refused to release him.
The chief of Kazakhstan's tax police, Kayrat Kozhamzharov, has refused to elaborate on Braliev's case, saying that investigations are continuing.
Meanwhile, Amina Bralieva says that the media in Kazakhstan are painting her husband as a criminal, even though he has not been convicted.