Daughter Of Kazakh Opposition Supporter Missing
Opposition presidential candidate Zharmakhan Tuyakbai (file photo) (RFE/RL)
Yelena Nikitina is the deputy chief of a support group backing presidential candidate Zharmakhan Tuyakbai, who heads the For a Just Kazakhstan opposition bloc. She says her daughter Oksanna disappeared on 31 October.
"Before my daughter's disappearance, I received several phone calls and visits from police," she said. "They wanted to persuade me to cooperate with them. They wanted to make me pass them all the information regarding our staff's activities."
Nikitina says she refused. She also says she videotaped the conversations, which were held at her house. She says she has presented the tapes to the Prosecutor-General's Office in Almaty.
Iten Karymsakov, a spokesman for the Prosecutor-General's Office, today denied any knowledge of the videotapes or of Oksanna's disappearance.
At a press conference in Almaty today, Asylbek Kozhakhmetov, a leader of the Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan opposition party, announced a 1 million-tenge ($7,500) reward for information about the girl's whereabouts.
(RFE/RL's Kazakh Service)