Anastasiya Georgievna Novikova (Анастасия Георгиевна Новикова, November 22, 1980 – June 19, 2004) was a news announcer for NTK television in

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

Rakhat Aliyev Rakhat Mukhtaruly Aliyev (, ''Rahat Mūhtarūly Äliev''; 10 December 1961 – 24 February 2015) was a Kazakh politician and diplomat, who died in an Austrian prison awaiting trial on charges of murder. His trial was planned to start in Vienna i ...

, a former senior government official who was related by marriage to Kazakh President

Nursultan Nazarbayev Nursultan Abishuly Nazarbayev (born 6 July 1940) is a Kazakhstani politician who served as the first president of Kazakhstan from 1991 to 2019. He also held the special title of Elbasy from 2010 to 2022 and chairman of the Security Council of ...

, was accused of involvement in her mysterious death in

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

. Born in

Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg , symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem , national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

parents, Novikova moved to Kazakhstan where she met one of NTK's owners, Rakhat Aliyev. When Aliyev was named ambassador to

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

in 2002, Novikova followed him to

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

and allegedly became romantically involved. Eyewitnesses who were close associates of Aliyev testified that Novikova became pregnant with Aliyev's daughter, was coerced to marry Daniyar Esten, a cousin of Aliyev who worked at the Kazakh Embassy in Vienna, and then sent to give birth to the baby in

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

. Novikova died violently under mysterious circumstances on June 19, 2004, after a fall from the Beirut apartment building where she lived. Her body was flown from Lebanon to a remote area in Kazakhstan and "secretly buried in a pre-prepared place" according to a Kazakhstan Interior Ministry spokesman. Esten died in a traffic accident in Austria in 2005. After Novikova's body was discovered and identified in July 2007, police raised a possible link between the dead woman and Aliyev because her remains had been taken from Lebanon to the secret burial site by people connected to the Nurbank murder case in which Aliyev was implicated. Aliyev was convicted in Kazakhstan of crimes in the Nurbank case, and in June 2014 turned himself in to the Austrian authorities on an international arrest warrant. Aliyev always maintained his innocence. Nobody has been charged in association with Novikova's disappearance and death, and the whereabouts of her child remain publicly unknown. The widows of the murdered Nurbank executives started an organization called Tagdyr that advocates on behalf of the alleged victims of Aliyev and his associates.

Social Movement

On the 10 year anniversary of Novikova's death an international movement called JusticeForNovikova.com began with the intention to bring her alleged murderer, Rakhat Aliyev to justice. On June 19, 2014 protest were held at

Lowndes Square Lowndes Square is a residential garden square at the north-west end of Belgravia, London, SW1. It is formed of archetypal grand terraces of light stucco houses, cream or white. The length of the central rectangular garden is parallel with Sloane ...

. and according to

CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...

, on July 21 protests also occurred in front of the Vienna Criminal Court, where Aliyev had a scheduled court hearing. From jail, Aliyev denounced the Justice for Novikova protesters as agents of the Kazakhstan secret services, an accusation consistent with his denunciations of high-profile European political figures. Aliyev reportedly branded his critics in the West as paid agents of Kazakhstani intelligence, and has surfaced forged documents in an effort to defame his detractors."The KGB's Successor Is Using Forged Documents to Deceive the West"
Forbes, September 3, 2014.

Social Movement

References

Further reading