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Ex-Kazakstan Prime Minister Sentenced
A former prime minister of Kazakstan was found guilty of corruption in absentia Thursday and sentenced to 10 years in prison.
The Supreme Court found Akezhan Kazhegeldin, who has been living in London and the United States, guilty of bribe-taking, abuse of office and illegal possession of weapons during his three years as prime minister, court spokeswoman Gulnara Bekturova said.
Kazhegeldin, who served as premier of the oil-rich former Soviet republic in 1994-97, has become a strong opponent of President Nursultan Nazarbayev since resigning and says the charges against him are politically motivated.
Nazarbayev, who has led the Central Asian country since the breakup of the Soviet Union, has shown little tolerance for dissent.
Kazhegeldin was barred from taking part in Kazakstan's 1999 parliamentary elections, and his first successor as head of the Republican People's Party resigned earlier this year under what he described as pressure from the government.
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