Austria playing politics in Aliyev case-Kazakhstan

By Staff
|
Google Oneindia News

ASTANA, Aug 15 (Reuters) Austria's decision not to extradite Kazakhstan's former ambassador in Vienna to face trial for kidnapping is politically motivated, a Kazakh interior ministry spokesman said today.

An Austrian court last week ruled against extraditing Rakhat Aliyev, who was married to Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev's daughter, because it could not guarantee him a fair trial.

''The decision by the Austrian court not to hand over Rakhat Aliyev and his accomplices to face trial for the kidnap of three people is clearly political,'' Kazakh spokesman Bagdat Kozhakhmetov said.

Aliyev has told Austrian authorities that he thinks his life would be in danger if he returned to Kazakhstan and that the case against him is politically motivated because he said he was considering running for president.

Nazarbayev ordered police to investigate Aliyev in May on suspicion of kidnapping senior officials at Nurbank, a bank controlled by Aliyev who denies all wrong doing.

Austrian police arrested Aliyev but a court freed him on bail. A separate money laundering investigation is ongoing in Kazakhstan against Aliyev.

Reuters PD DB2224

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