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Nazarbaev Ex-Son-In-Law Drawn Into Murder Case


Rakhat Aliev (seen in Almaty in 2007) is a former son-in-law of Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev
Rakhat Aliev (seen in Almaty in 2007) is a former son-in-law of Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev
QASKELEN, Kazakhstan -- The prosecutor at a new trial in a high-profile murder case in Kazakhstan has demanded that investigations be launched against former presidential son-in-law Rakhat Aliev and the former chief of the Kazakh National Security Committee, Alnur Musaev, for their alleged roles in ordering three murders.

The prosecutor also asked the judge at the January 31 hearing to sentence the former chief of Kazakhstan's parliamentary apparatus, Erzhan Otembaev, to 15 years in jail for his alleged mediating role in the murders.

Kazakh opposition leader Altynbek Sarsenbaiuly (aka Sarsenbaev) and two associates were found shot dead execution-style near Almaty in 2006.

Otembaev was sentenced to 20 years in jail for ordering the murders.

His retrial started this month after Kazakh authorities announced in December that newly obtained evidence pointed to Aliev.

Aliev, who is a former senior Kazakh official and ex-husband of Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev's daughter Dariga, has been living in self-imposed exile in Europe since 2007.

Musaev's whereabouts are unknown.
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