Rakhat Aliyev.
Rakhat Aliyev intends to obtain the citizenship of Cyprus, German lawyer Lothar de Maiziere said in an interview to DW. Lothar de Maiziere is the lawyer of Petr Afanasenko and Satzhan Ibrayev, former bodyguards of ex-Prime-Minister of Kazakhstan Akezhan Kazhegeldin that were allegedly tortured by Rakhat Aliyev. They previously addressed the law enforcement authorities of Malta, where Rakhat Aliyev is staying at present time, demanding to initiate a criminal case against Aliyev, but the Maltese authorities reportedly did not even start the investigation. According to the lawyer, it is becoming too 'hot' in Malta for Aliyev, because several lawsuits have been filed against him and a significant part of his assets has been frozen, that is why he wants to escape the pressure. "In case Rakhat Aliyev leaves Malta, they may stop their investigation, under that pretext that he is no longer in the justification of the Maltese authorities. So it is important to keep Aliyev in Malta and prevent him from fleeing to Cyprus. Prime-Minister of Malta Joseph Muscat declared that Malta would not allow someone like Rakhat Aliyev to get Maltese citizenship no matter how huge his investments may be. I wrote all this in my letter to the Cyprus Minister of Internal Affairs," Lothar de Maiziere said, adding that he had not received a reply yet. Aliyev denies all the charges. Kazhageldin addressed to the Maltese court with a claim over inaction of the local police that refused to initiate a case over the tortures made by Rakhat Aliyev. Rakhat Aliyev, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison for a number of grave crimes, including kidnapping, treason and plotting a coup d'etat in Kazakhstan. The currently lives in Malta.
Rakhat Aliyev intends to obtain the citizenship of Cyprus, German lawyer Lothar de Maiziere said in an interview to DW.
Lothar de Maiziere is the lawyer of Petr Afanasenko and Satzhan Ibrayev, former bodyguards of ex-Prime-Minister of Kazakhstan Akezhan Kazhegeldin that were allegedly tortured by Rakhat Aliyev. They previously addressed the law enforcement authorities of Malta, where Rakhat Aliyev is staying at present time, demanding to initiate a criminal case against Aliyev, but the Maltese authorities reportedly did not even start the investigation.
According to the lawyer, it is becoming too 'hot' in Malta for Aliyev, because several lawsuits have been filed against him and a significant part of his assets has been frozen, that is why he wants to escape the pressure.
"In case Rakhat Aliyev leaves Malta, they may stop their investigation, under that pretext that he is no longer in the justification of the Maltese authorities. So it is important to keep Aliyev in Malta and prevent him from fleeing to Cyprus. Prime-Minister of Malta Joseph Muscat declared that Malta would not allow someone like Rakhat Aliyev to get Maltese citizenship no matter how huge his investments may be. I wrote all this in my letter to the Cyprus Minister of Internal Affairs," Lothar de Maiziere said, adding that he had not received a reply yet.
Aliyev denies all the charges. Kazhageldin addressed to the Maltese court with a claim over inaction of the local police that refused to initiate a case over the tortures made by Rakhat Aliyev. Rakhat Aliyev, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison for a number of grave crimes, including kidnapping, treason and plotting a coup d'etat in Kazakhstan. The currently lives in Malta.