The trial that began on April 17, sparked by a lawsuit from Senior Deputy Foreign Minister Rakhat Aliyev against Colonel Arat Narmanbetov formerly of the National Security Committee, promises some political sensations.

Narmanbetov gave two interviews in the wake of the murder of Altynbek Sarsenbayev and his two assistants this February. The ex-colonel announced that Aliyev, the president's son-in-law and ex-Senior Deputy Chairman of the National Security Committee, had been directly involved in the murder of the opposition leader and chairman of Genuine Ak Zhol, a political party denied official registration. Web sites of the opposition posted the text of the interviews, and some newspapers printed them as well. Aliyev claims that Narmanbetov is spreading lies and demands him prosecuted.

Narmanbetov in his interviews referred to his own sources in the National Security Committee and in Arystan (its special forces detachment) whose commander had resigned in the wake of the triple murder. Narmanbetov even claimed to possess documentary evidence corroborating implications. Once the chief of the Investigation Department, Narmanbetov could have his own sources of information in the National Security Committee indeed. He sided with the democratic opposition a couple of years ago together with many other officers disgusted with corruption and lawlessness of law enforcement agencies usually headed by representatives of the president's family or people known for personal loyalty to Nazarbayev. It is common knowledge as well that the president's relatives running security structures are not exactly popular with their subordinates. Officers of security structures could supply information too.

Status of witnesses and the nature of the matters itself make sensational confessions a distinct possibility. Aliyev's status leaves no doubts as to the outcome of the trial unless some truly "murderous" documents are presented by the defendant. This is not Aliyev's first experience in court battles. He already charged various media outlets (Vremya Po... newspaper, Navigator web site) for slander and always collected.

Aliyev resigned from the National Security Committee in 2001 in the midst of the political crisis in the country. As a matter of fact, numerous observers blame precisely Aliyev for the crisis that compelled a number of senior state officials to side with the opposition. Nazarbayev's clearly changed hiss opinion of Aliyev then and made him ambassador to the OSCE (the decision many in Uzbekistan regard as "honorary exile"). Nothing is known about the relations between the president and his son-in-law nowadays. There is no saying either if Narmanbetov has any supporters in the positions of power. If he does, things may turn definitely sour for Aliyev who is unlikely to have shed his political aspirations.

As for Narmanbetov, some publications in the local media already warn that he is asking for trouble. Publications refer to Aliyev again but he has not responded yet.