A regulation that gave former president Nursultan Nazarbayev’s household immunity from prosecution was repealed by Kazakhstan’s parliament on Friday, whereas taking away his standing as a frontrunner of the nation.
Over the course of his three a long time on the helm, Nazarbayev, 82, constructed a persona cult round himself. When he resigned, he appointed shut ally Kassym-Jomart Tokayev as his successor, retaining sweeping powers.
Early final yr, nonetheless, the 2 politicians appeared to fall out amid violent protests that Tokayev mentioned have been a part of an tried coup within the former Soviet republic. 238 folks have been killed within the clashes between protesters and safety forces after they seized and burned authorities buildings in a number of cities.
Upon taking up Nazarbayev’s place as head of the highly effective safety council, Tokayev oversaw the sacking of a number of of Nazarbayev’s kin and associates from senior public workplace positions.
A few of them, comparable to Nazarbayev’s nephew Kairat Satybaldy, have been detained and charged with embezzling funds from the state or state-controlled corporations.
Nonetheless, the ex-president’s closest kin have loved authorized immunity because of a regulation that additionally granted him the title of Yelbasy, or nationwide chief, and supplied him with a authorities allowance and safety element.
Tokayev’s “political transformation,” backed by final yr’s constitutional reform, prompted lawmakers to vote on Friday to repeal the regulation, permitting the state to freeze the belongings of Nazarbayev relations if they’re suspected of crimes.
Nazarbayev himself, nonetheless, will retain immunity to prosecution which is supplied by the structure.
The ex-president’s three daughters have owned a broad vary of companies and considered one of them, Dinara Kulibayeva, has constantly been ranked by the Forbes journal as one of many richest individuals in Kazakhstan, collectively together with her husband Timur Kulibayev.
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Reuters