Kazakh President’s son-in-law charged with murder (telegraph.co.uk 19.06.2011)

Rakhat Aliyev, who was married to President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s eldest daughter Dariga until their divorce in 2007, was sentenced three years ago to 40 years in prison for kidnapping Zholdas Timraliyev and Aybar Khasenov.

Mr Nazarbayev followed the new charge with a renewed call for Aliyev to be extradited from Austria.

“Austria is our partner with whom we have considerable economic relations. Now the Austrian authorities have no arguments not to extradite those criminals so that justice can be done,” he said.

Aliyev responded on his blog Rakhat.org, claiming that evidence against him had been fabricated.

Austria’s prosecutor general is expected to refuse Kazakhstan’s request to extradite Aliyev by the end of this month, Michael Laubsch, President of Eurasian Transition Group, said. “I’ve received signals from the prosecutor general that in the Rakhat Aliyev case extradition is not possible.”