Rakhat Aliev, the former son-in-law of Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev, says a statement by Kazakh officials that two bodies found recently are of bankers allegedly kidnapped by Aliev in 2007 is a "bad provocation," RFE/RL's Kazakh Service reports.
Aliev, who is living in exile in Austria, wrote on his blog on May 19 that there is nothing to comment on as "all that is a bad provocation by Kazakhstan's special services."
Kazakh Deputy Prosecutor-General Johan Merkel announced earlier this week that two bodies had been found in Almaty and that "there are all grounds to suggest that the bodies are of the missing bankers Zholdas Temiraliev and Aibar Khasenov."
Merkel added that Aliev may be charged with the killing of the two bankers. If that occurs, Kazakhstan would seek Aliev's extradition from Austria.
In 2008, Aliev and Alnur Musaev -- the former chairman of Kazakhstan's National Security Committee -- were each sentenced in absentia to 20 years in prison for "organization of a criminal group, abduction, and preparation for the illegal seizure of power."
Aliev and Musaev, who have been living in self-imposed exile in Europe since 2007, deny the charges against them.
Aliev, 48, was deputy chairman of the National Security Committee, deputy foreign minister, and Kazakh ambassador to Austria and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe at different periods of time in the last 15 years.
In 2007, he left for Austria after investigations were launched into his alleged involvement into the disappearance of the two NurBank bankers in Almaty.
Read more in Kazakh here
Aliev, who is living in exile in Austria, wrote on his blog on May 19 that there is nothing to comment on as "all that is a bad provocation by Kazakhstan's special services."
Kazakh Deputy Prosecutor-General Johan Merkel announced earlier this week that two bodies had been found in Almaty and that "there are all grounds to suggest that the bodies are of the missing bankers Zholdas Temiraliev and Aibar Khasenov."
Merkel added that Aliev may be charged with the killing of the two bankers. If that occurs, Kazakhstan would seek Aliev's extradition from Austria.
In 2008, Aliev and Alnur Musaev -- the former chairman of Kazakhstan's National Security Committee -- were each sentenced in absentia to 20 years in prison for "organization of a criminal group, abduction, and preparation for the illegal seizure of power."
Aliev and Musaev, who have been living in self-imposed exile in Europe since 2007, deny the charges against them.
Aliev, 48, was deputy chairman of the National Security Committee, deputy foreign minister, and Kazakh ambassador to Austria and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe at different periods of time in the last 15 years.
In 2007, he left for Austria after investigations were launched into his alleged involvement into the disappearance of the two NurBank bankers in Almaty.
Read more in Kazakh here
