Nazarbaev's grandson named vice president of Kazakhstan's soccer federation
| Publisher | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| Publication Date | 28 February 2017 |
| Cite as | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Nazarbaev's grandson named vice president of Kazakhstan's soccer federation, 28 February 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5975a5bd13.html [accessed 28 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
February 28, 2017
A grandson of Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbaev has been appointed as Vice President of Kazakhstan's Football Federation (KFF).
The KFF announced its decision on its website on February 28, saying that Aisultan Nazarbaev had been appointed as KFF's Vice President to supervise the country's national soccer federation with FIFA, UEFA, and foreign soccer associations.
Aisultan – the second son of President Nazarbaev's eldest daughter, Darigha Nazarbaeva – comes from a family with a controversial history.
Aisultan's father, Rakhat Aliev, had been a Kazakh ambassador to Austria and a state security service deputy chief.
But he became a vocal critic of Nazarbaev after he was sacked from his posts.
Aliev stayed in Austria in self-imposed exile, and was subsequently accused by Kazakh authorities of murdering two Kazakh bankers.
A Kazakh court in 2008 sentenced Aliev to 40 years in jail in absentia after finding him guilty of high treason and corruption.
In June 2014, Aliev was detained by police in Vienna on Kazakhstan's murder charges – but Austrian authorities refused to extradite him to Kazakhstan.
In February 2015, Aliev was found hanged inside his cell at a detention center in Vienna.
Austrian authorities ruled Aliev's death was a suicide, but his lawyers insisted he was murdered.
Link to original story on RFE/RL website
