Rakhat Aliyev. ©REUTERS/Shamil Zhumatov
Rakhat Aliyev has lost a legal case to Pyotr Afanasenko, former bodyguard of former Kazakhstan Prime-Minister Akezhan Kazhegeldin Pyotr Afanasenko, KazTAG reports citing Kazakhstan’s New Newspaper. “Rakhat Aliyev has lost the case for the first time since he has been hiding in Europe. The case was won by Pyotr Afanasenko, former bodyguard of ex-Prime-Minister Akezhan Kazhegeldin. Afanasenko received Belgian citizenship in May this year and filed a lawsuit to the Vienne regional court demanding Aliyev to compensate moral damages in the amount of 7,000 Euro,” the newspaper writes. According to the newspaper, “such small amount of compensation for suffering from tortures at interrogations held by Rakhat Aliyev in 1999-2000 was recommended by Afanasenko’s lawyer Stefan Schermayer from Tonninger, Schermayer, Rigler and Mayerhofer law firm in Vienne. “The tactics of the Austrian lawyer turned out to be successful. Afanasenko’s lawyer did not chase large fees by insisting on multiple-didget figures and decided to reach the results by creating a legal precedent. This has worked,” the publication states. “This decision gives Afanasenko a right to send claims to respective European authorities asking to search for Aliyev’s property at the whole territory of the European Union and demand it to be arrested for the purpose of fulfilling the court's decision,” the newspaper writes. Schermayer sent a request to Viennese court asking it to order banks and property-registering authorities to present information on the accounts and property of Rakhat Aliyev and freeze all the transactions related to them. The newspaper has also found out that on September 12 the court made this decision and issued an order of enforcement for 20 Austrian banks, including Raiffeisenbank and UniCredit, as well as for tax authorities of the regions of Vienna where Aliyev might own property. This decision gives Afanasenko’s lawyers a right to apply to banks and other EU member-countries with a claim to act upon the decision of the Austrian court, including to those in Malta, where Aliyev has moved, according to his lawyers. Afanasenko used to be head of security of Akezhan Kazhegeldin when he was holding the position of Kazakhstan Prime-Minister in 1994-1997. After Prime-Minister’s resignation Afanasenko resigned as well. He was accused of preparation of an armed plot and jailed. Having spent 1 year and 7 months in prison, he signed a petition for pardon and was released. Afanasenko has been living in Belgium since 2003 with a status of a political refugee. Earlier he submitted a civil claim against Aliyev accusing him of tortures.
Rakhat Aliyev has lost a legal case to Pyotr Afanasenko, former bodyguard of former Kazakhstan Prime-Minister Akezhan Kazhegeldin Pyotr Afanasenko, KazTAG reports citing Kazakhstan’s New Newspaper.
“Rakhat Aliyev has lost the case for the first time since he has been hiding in Europe. The case was won by Pyotr Afanasenko, former bodyguard of ex-Prime-Minister Akezhan Kazhegeldin. Afanasenko received Belgian citizenship in May this year and filed a lawsuit to the Vienne regional court demanding Aliyev to compensate moral damages in the amount of 7,000 Euro,” the newspaper writes.
According to the newspaper, “such small amount of compensation for suffering from tortures at interrogations held by Rakhat Aliyev in 1999-2000 was recommended by Afanasenko’s lawyer Stefan Schermayer from Tonninger, Schermayer, Rigler and Mayerhofer law firm in Vienne.
“The tactics of the Austrian lawyer turned out to be successful. Afanasenko’s lawyer did not chase large fees by insisting on multiple-didget figures and decided to reach the results by creating a legal precedent. This has worked,” the publication states.
“This decision gives Afanasenko a right to send claims to respective European authorities asking to search for Aliyev’s property at the whole territory of the European Union and demand it to be arrested for the purpose of fulfilling the court's decision,” the newspaper writes.
Schermayer sent a request to Viennese court asking it to order banks and property-registering authorities to present information on the accounts and property of Rakhat Aliyev and freeze all the transactions related to them.
The newspaper has also found out that on September 12 the court made this decision and issued an order of enforcement for 20 Austrian banks, including Raiffeisenbank and UniCredit, as well as for tax authorities of the regions of Vienna where Aliyev might own property.
This decision gives Afanasenko’s lawyers a right to apply to banks and other EU member-countries with a claim to act upon the decision of the Austrian court, including to those in Malta, where Aliyev has moved, according to his lawyers.
Afanasenko used to be head of security of Akezhan Kazhegeldin when he was holding the position of Kazakhstan Prime-Minister in 1994-1997. After Prime-Minister’s resignation Afanasenko resigned as well. He was accused of preparation of an armed plot and jailed. Having spent 1 year and 7 months in prison, he signed a petition for pardon and was released. Afanasenko has been living in Belgium since 2003 with a status of a political refugee. Earlier he submitted a civil claim against Aliyev accusing him of tortures.