Kazakhstan denies rumours of foreign minister’s detention UPDATED

Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has denied reports that Foreign Minister Murat Nurtleu has been detained, with Ministry spokesperson Aibek Smadiyarov describing the claims as entirely unfounded and a breach of journalistic ethics.

“The news regarding the detention of the Republic of Kazakhstan’s Foreign Minister is not accurate," Caliber.Az quotes Smadiyarov per local media.

"We regard this as a violation of journalistic ethics and the country’s applicable legislation,” Smadiyarov said.

The country’s Centre for Combating Disinformation also refuted the reports concerning Nurtleu.

“The Centre for Combating Disinformation of the Central Communications Service under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan confirms that information circulated on the platforms of Gulnara Bazhkenova (‘Orda’ and ‘Bazhkenova etc.’) regarding the alleged detention of Foreign Minister Murat Nurtleu and businessman Gaji Gajiyev is false,” the centre said in a statement.

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Kazakhstan’s Foreign Minister Murat Nurtleu has been detained along with businessman Gaji Gajiyev and several senior officers of the National Security Committee, according to local outlet Orda.kz, citing law enforcement sources.

Nurtleu, who also serves as deputy prime minister, was reportedly taken into custody at his home shortly after returning from the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in China. Searches were carried out at the residences of both Nurtleu and Gajiyev, the report said.

Authorities have denied the claims. “Some official media and anonymous Telegram channels are spreading unverified information regarding the detention of public officials,” Culture and Information Minister Aida Balayeva wrote on Facebook.

Nurtleu is considered one of Kazakhstan’s most influential political figures, with close ties to the security services dating back to his tenure as deputy head of the KNB during the unrest of January 2022.

Gajiyev is formally known as a businessman but is said to have worked informally with the KNB.

However, the Kazakh Telegraph Agency (KazTAG), citing a well-informed source, has dismissed reports of the detention of Kazakhstan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Murat Nurtleu as fake.

“The information about Nurtleu’s detention does not correspond to reality; it is fake,” a source in Astana familiar with the situation told KazTAG on Thursday.

According to earlier reports, the National Security Committee (NSC) had allegedly detained not only Nurtleu but also businessman Gaji Gajiyev; however, the agency’s source completely denied this information.

KazTAG’s editorial team has already approached the NSC press office for comment.

By Aghakazim Guliyev