Accessibility links

Breaking News

Austrian Police Arrest Kazakh Leader's Son-in-law


Rakhat Aliev (file photo) (epa) June 1, 2007 -- Austrian police have arrested the son-in-law of Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev.


Rakhat Aliev is wanted in Kazakhstan for the abduction of two officials in January -- a charge he denies.


Aliev, who is married to Nazarbaev's eldest daughter, had served as Kazakhstan's ambassador to Austria before he was dismissed from the post last weekend.


Kazakh prosecutors filed an international arrest warrant against him earlier this week. He was arrested in Vienna.


(AFP, AP)


FURTHER READING
Battle Of The Clans
Kazakh politics are dominated by a few powerful clans with varying ties to President Nursultan Nazarbaev. more
The Other Son-In-Law
Timur Kulibaev, who is married to President Nazarbaev's second daughter, Dinara, is head of the huge KazMunaiGaz energy concern. more

Kazakhstan's Fallen Opposition

Kazakhstan's Fallen Opposition
Slain Kazakh journalist Askhat Sharipzhanov (undated RFE/RL file photo)

February 13, 2006: Altynbek Sarsenbaev -- a leader of the Kazakh opposition, co-chairman of the Naghyz Aq Zhol party, former minister of information, former Kazakh ambassador to Russia, former secretary of Kazakhstan's Security Council -- is found dead with his bodyguard and his driver, shot to death, execution style, with their hands bound behind their backs.

November 11, 2005: Zamanbek Nurkadilov-- prominent Kazakh politician, former mayor of Almaty, former Minister of Extraordinary Situations, and since a vocal critic of President Nursultan Nazarbaev since March 2004 -- is found shot to death, with two shots in his chest and one in his head. Kazakh authorities officially rule the case a suicide.

June 2, 2005: Batyrkhan Darimbet -- opposition journalist and editor in chief of the weekly AZAT -- is killed in what is officially reported as a traffic accident. Relatives and activists assert that it was a political killing.

December 19, 2004: Erzhan Tatishev -- head of Kazakhstan's largest bank, TuranAlemBank -- is killed in what was officially described as a hunting accident. Kazakh political observers allege that it was a premeditated assassination.

July 20, 2004: Askhat Sharipzhan-- independent journalist and political commentator for NAVI online -- dies of injuries sustained several days earlier in what was officially reported as a hit-and-run accident. Relatives and colleagues believe it was an assassination.

November17, 2002: Independent journalist Nuri Muftakh is killed in what is officially reported as a traffic accident. Colleagues and activists regard the death as suspicious.

January 4, 2002: Human rights activist Aleksei Pugaev is found dead, the victim of a hit-and-run car accident. Colleagues regard the circumstances as suspicious and no one is ever arrested in connection with the death.

(compiled by RFE/RL's Kazakh Service)


RELATED ARTICLES

Sarsenbaev Murder Trial Begins

Kazakh President Tries To Calm Growing Political Crisis

Kazakhstan: A Shaken System

Nazarbaev Landslide Buries Future Problems

Nazarbaev Touts Stability In Run-Up To Election


ARCHIVE

To view an archive of RFE/RL's coverage of Kazakhstan, click here.



SUBSCRIBE

For weekly news and analysis on all five Central Asian countries by e-mail, subscribe to "RFE/RL Central Asia Report."

RFE/RL has been declared an "undesirable organization" by the Russian government.

If you are in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine and hold a Russian passport or are a stateless person residing permanently in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine, please note that you could face fines or imprisonment for sharing, liking, commenting on, or saving our content, or for contacting us.

To find out more, click here.

XS
SM
MD
LG