issued by the Registrar of the Court
ECHR 072 (2022)
03.03.2022
Freezing of assets in Malta following request by the Kazakh authorities
European Court of Human Rights held, unanimously, that there had been:
a violation of Article 1 of Protocol No.1 (protection of property) to the European Convention on
Human Rights, and
no violation of Article 6 § 1 (right to a fair trial) of the Convention regarding the length of the
constitutional redress proceedings.
Ms Shorazova was born in Kazakhstan and at the relevant time was married to Rakhat Aliyev, who
had previously been married to the daughter of the then president of Kazakhstan, Nursultan
Nazarbayev and later became his political adversary. The case concerned the freezing of the
applicant’s assets in Malta at the request of the Kazakh authorities. She was facing charges in
Kazakhstan for multiple serious crimes at that time.
The Court considered that in the present case there were sufficient grounds to question the genuine
nature of the actions undertaken by Kazakhstan and thus the general interest behind the measure. It
then found that in the procedure before the Criminal Court by which the freezing order had been
issued and repeatedly extended in the applicant’s case, the applicant had been deprived of relevant
procedural safeguards against an arbitrary or disproportionate interference for nearly eight years.
However, as concerned the constitutional proceedings which she had lodged to complain of a breach
of her rights, the Court considered their length not to have been excessive in the circumstances.
Principal facts
The applicant, Elnara Shorazova, is an Austrian national who was born in 1976 and lives in Vienna.
Ms Shorazova is the widow of Rakhat Aliyev. The latter had previously been married to the daughter
of Nursultan Nazarbayev, who was president of Kazakhstan from 1991 until 2019. As well as being
appointed to other Government posts, in 2002 Mr Aliyev became ambassador to Austria, before
returning in 2005 to Kazakhstan as vice-minister of Foreign Affairs. He was spoken about as a
candidate to replace Mr Nazarbayev as president. In the mid-2000s political tensions arose between
the two men. A warrant was ultimately issued for Mr Aliyev’s arrest
Mr Aliyev married the applicant in 2009 and they resided in Malta until 2013. He died in prison in
Austria in 2015.
In 2008 and 2009 following two trials in absentia Mr Aliyev was convicted in Kazakhstan of among
other things political offences and sentenced in both to a 20-year prison sentence.
In 2007 a first extradition request for Mr Aliyev was received by Austria and denied on the grounds
that he would not receive treatment in accordance with the European Convention. In 2011 a second
extradition request was also rejected, noting Mr Aliyev’s conviction in absentia and that it had been
possibly a political trial.
1. Under Articles 43 and 44 of the Convention, this Chamber judgment is not final. During the three-month period following its delivery,
any party may request that the case be referred to the Grand Chamber of the Court. If such a request is made, a panel of five judges
considers whether the case deserves further examination. In that event, the Grand Chamber will hear the case and deliver a final
judgment. If the referral request is refused, the Chamber judgment will become final on that day.
Once a judgment becomes final, it is transmitted to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe for supervision of its execution.
Further information about the execution process can be found here: www.coe.int/t/dghl/monitoring/execution.
