Mr Aliyev was also previously convicted in absentia to 20 years in prison for abduction and fraud. Moreover, speaking at the news conference, Marat Kolkobayev, the head of the National Security Committee’s investigation department, did not rule out that criminal cases into the deaths of opposition leaders Altynbek Sarsenbayev and Zamanbek Nurkadilov might be sent to an additional investigation, hinting at Mr Aliyev’s possible links to these cases.
The public questioned the objectivity of investigation into the deaths of Mr Sarsenbayev and Mr Nurkadilov. The case of Mr Nurkadilov, who was found dead with three shots, was concluded as suicide. Mr Yerzhan Utembayev, the former head of the Senate administration, was sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment for admittedly contracting the murder of Mr Sarsenbayev, the court ruled in 2006. All this gives rise to a big question as why Mr Aliyev’s possible involvement in these cases has not been investigated before. Reviewing these cases now would be seen by the public as turning Mr Aliyev into the scapegoat for all political troubles in the country. It hugely undermines confidence in the justice system in the country.
Mr Aliyev has himself claimed that he fell out of President Nazarbayev’s favour after he allegedly told the president that he would stand for a 2012 presidential election. Mr Aliyev is believed to have owned a media empire in Kazakhstan and a stake in Nurbank, which has now been split between his ex-wife Dariga Nazarbayeva and their son, Nurali.
