/EIN News/ The visit of the “Tagdyr” NGO’s chairman, Armangul Kapasheva, to the capital of Germany that took place in the middle of June started taking effect. Wife of the kidnapped Kazakhstan banker came to Europe once again to meet human rights activists and attract people’s atten-tion to the “Aliyev’s case” and managed to reach her goal.
For the last week Kapasheva received over a dozen of letters from journalists and no less from human rights activists who asked to provide them with detailed information concerning criminal activity of Rakhat Aliyev who is hiding now in Austria. As it is known, the scandal broke out about two years ago, when the local authorities of Vienna refused to extradite Ali-yev, ex-ambassador of Austria, to Kazakhstan. He is the former son-in-law of president of Kazakhstan, the former officer of secret services and Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ka-zakhstan, and he was sentenced to 40 years of imprisonment for a number of kidnappings and for a coup attempt. Nevertheless, Austria provided him political refuge and is not going to extradite him. Armangul Kapasheva is directly connected with the “Alyev’s case”. She is married to Zholdas Timraliyev, a manager of the large Kazakhstan bank, who disappeared without a trace immediately after his meeting with Rakhat Aliyev.
In the course of her visit to Germany Kapasheva told local journalists, human rights activists and politicians that it is not only her husband that disappeared but many other Kazakhstan bankers, politicians and oppositionists were kidnapped as well. The evidence she collected haven’t really interested the Europeans and Austrian lawyers until now. But today the situa-tion is changing.
Kapasheva’s companions, relatives of other Aliyev’s victims sent the full text of the Almaty regional court judgment, copies of other official documents and reports translated into English and German to journalists and human rights activists on their request. All additional informa-tion they can find on the web-site http://rakhataliyev.com made by the NGO “Tagdyr” that is translated as “Fate”.
Armangul Kapasheva mentions that she didn’t really believe that Europe will pay attention to the tragedy that happened in the far-away Asian country. The Kazakhstan foundation chair-man believed that the European community is indifferent to it, while European politicians pursue their own interests. “All Europe became a silent witness of injustice. Where are all those high-hearted and honest Europeans who defend rights of Guantanamo prisoners or kid-napped Tibetans? Why don’t they wish to know a little bit more of what happens in the center of Europe?” – she asked before her visit to Germany. Now she changed her opinion. She found out that fate of the kidnapped people who were unlucky to meet Aliyev on their way doesn’t leave all Europeans indifferent. With the help of a Bundestag ombudsman Michael Loiter Kapasheva managed to file a petition to the Human Rights Commission of the German Bundestag. Besides, Armangul Kapasheva spoke about the “Aliyev’s case” in detail with a well-known human rights activist, secretary general of the European Center for Constitutional rights and human rights (ECCHR), Wolfgang Kalek.
In the course of these talks Armangul Kapasheva stressed that she didn’t pursue Aliyev’s extradition to Kazakhstan, where, according to the Europeans’ bias, the court is prejudiced. “Only an open judicial trial in Europe will give us a chance to know something about our rela-tives lost due to the fate of Aliyev. Even if his extradition to Kazakhstan is not possible, what is quite possible is to conduct an independent investigation here, in Europe”, she said. Ac-cording to Kapasheva’s words, she wishes nothing else but to find her husband and bring him back home, or, if he is not alive, at least bury him according to the tradition of Kazakh people.
At her last press-conference in Berlin she said: “Our quest will go on, and I hope our efforts will bring Austrian citizens to our side, as it already happened in Germany”.
