The Ministry of Justice of Austria has officially confirmed the death of the former Kazakh ambassador to the country Rakhat Aliyev, Tengrinews reports citing the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan. Earlier, the media reported that Rakhat Aliyev was found hanging of a laundry hook in his solitary jail cell.
"The Ministry of Justice of Austria has officially verbally confirmed the suicide of the citizen of Kazakhstan Rakhat Aliyev in the solitary confinement in Josefstadt prison last night. We believe that the Austrian authorities will investigate the incident. Our diplomatic office will be in contact with the authorities in Austria to clarify all the circumstances," the official statement of the Ministry reads.
Rakhat Aliyev was found dead today at 7:20 a.m. in his cell. Aliyev was transferred from a three-person cell to a solitary confinement at his own request a few weeks ago. His two cellmates allegedly threatened him to kill him if he did not make a money transfer.
Aliyev's lawyer questioned the version of suicide, but the Austrian authorities declined to make any further statements until the investigation is completed.
In a telephone interview with Tengrinews, a lawyer of Lansky, Ganzger + Partner Anna Zeitlinger, who represented the plaintiffs in the case of murder of top managers of Nurbank Zholdas Timraliyev and Aibar Khasenov, said that Rakhat Aliyev was found hanging in the bathroom of his cell on the laces of a garbage bag. She also confirmed that the cell was locked.
The lawyer added that the Prosecutor’s Office of Vienna was doing everything necessary. “An autopsy has been scheduled. The scene of the incident has been investigated by criminologists. And it was reported that all the investigations are being carried out without any delays,” she said. Zeitlinger added that the Viennese prosecutors would announce the results of the examination and provide all the details soon.
According to Zeitlinger, a spokesperson of Josefstadt prison said in an interview to Austrian radio Ö-1 at noon today that the detention facility staff were completely certain it was a suicide. According to him, the corridor leading to the cell had surveillance cameras that were recoding everything. After the records are studied they can serve to prove that nobody entered Aliyev's cell on the night before his death, he said.
By Dinara Urazova
The Ministry of Justice of Austria has officially confirmed the death of the former Kazakh ambassador to the country Rakhat Aliyev, Tengrinews reports citing the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan. Earlier, the media reported that Rakhat Aliyev was found hanging of a laundry hook in his solitary jail cell.
"The Ministry of Justice of Austria has officially verbally confirmed the suicide of the citizen of Kazakhstan Rakhat Aliyev in the solitary confinement in Josefstadt prison last night. We believe that the Austrian authorities will investigate the incident. Our diplomatic office will be in contact with the authorities in Austria to clarify all the circumstances," the official statement of the Ministry reads.
Rakhat Aliyev was found dead today at 7:20 a.m. in his cell. Aliyev was transferred from a three-person cell to a solitary confinement at his own request a few weeks ago. His two cellmates allegedly threatened him to kill him if he did not make a money transfer.
Aliyev's lawyer questioned the version of suicide, but the Austrian authorities declined to make any further statements until the investigation is completed.
In a telephone interview with Tengrinews, a lawyer of Lansky, Ganzger + Partner Anna Zeitlinger, who represented the plaintiffs in the case of murder of top managers of Nurbank Zholdas Timraliyev and Aibar Khasenov, said that Rakhat Aliyev was found hanging in the bathroom of his cell on the laces of a garbage bag. She also confirmed that the cell was locked.
The lawyer added that the Prosecutor’s Office of Vienna was doing everything necessary. “An autopsy has been scheduled. The scene of the incident has been investigated by criminologists. And it was reported that all the investigations are being carried out without any delays,” she said. Zeitlinger added that the Viennese prosecutors would announce the results of the examination and provide all the details soon.
According to Zeitlinger, a spokesperson of Josefstadt prison said in an interview to Austrian radio Ö-1 at noon today that the detention facility staff were completely certain it was a suicide. According to him, the corridor leading to the cell had surveillance cameras that were recoding everything. After the records are studied they can serve to prove that nobody entered Aliyev's cell on the night before his death, he said.
By Dinara Urazova