Kazakh exile Rakhat Aliyev no longer in Austria

Aliyev, a former Kazakh ambassador to Austria, was tried and convicted on a range of charges, including kidnapping and an attempted coup.

Rakhat Aliyev, the former son-in-law of Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev who sought refuge in Austria to escape a kidnapping trial back home, has left the country, his lawyer said Saturday.

The lawyer's comments followed a report by the magazine Profil, to be published on Monday, which said that Aliyev had not renewed his Austrian residency permit, which expired in September.

"He is no longer in Austria," the lawyer, who was not named, told the Austria Press Agency.

Aliyev, a former Kazakh ambassador to Austria, was tried and convicted in absentia in 2008 on a range of charges, including kidnapping and an attempted coup, and sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Austria had denied an extradition request in 2007, ruling that he would not be able to obtain a fair trial in Kazakhstan.

Aliyev meanwhile claimed he was the victim of a political witch-hunt designed to crush his chances of running in the 2012 presidential elections.

He was divorced from Nazarbayev's daughter in 2007.

A notable figure in political and business affairs, Aliyev had said he would testify before an Austrian parliamentary inquiry into Kazakh spying operations in Austria.

The secret services were suspected of seeking sensitive police information to locate Aliyev and of manipulating members of parliament.

But the inquiry was wrapped up on Friday amid disagreement among political parties over ways to proceed.