Lira Baysetova is the former editor of the weekly '' Respublika'' newspaper of

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

. In late May 2002, she found that her 25-year-old daughter Leyla Baysetova had mysteriously disappeared.

Reporters Without Borders Reporters Without Borders (RWB; french: Reporters sans frontières; RSF) is an international non-profit and non-governmental organization with the stated aim of safeguarding the right to freedom of information. It describes its advocacy as found ...

reported that, during the previous week, the editor had been the subject of specific threats following an interview she had conducted with Geneva general prosecutor, Bernard Bertossa (on 10 May 2002) concerning the

Swiss bank account Banking in Switzerland dates to the early eighteenth century through Switzerland's merchant trade and has, over the centuries, grown into a complex, regulated, and international industry. Banking is seen as emblematic of Switzerland, along with ...

s of several top Kazakh officials, including President

Nursultan Nazarbayev Nursultan Abishuly Nazarbayev ( kk, Нұрсұлтан Әбішұлы Назарбаев, Nūrsūltan Äbişūlı Nazarbaev, ; born 6 July 1940) is a Kazakh politician and military officer who served as the first President of Kazakhstan, in off ...

. A week later, the headless body of a dog was found hanging over the entrance of the offices of another opposition newspaper ( ''Soldat''), which was set to publish Baysetova's interview with Bertossa. On 22 May (the day the interview was published), unidentified men attacked ''Soldats premises, beating up two employees, stealing computers and smashing equipment. The same day, the offices of ''Respublika'' in

Almaty Almaty (; kk, Алматы; ), formerly known as Alma-Ata ( kk, Алма-Ата), is the List of most populous cities in Kazakhstan, largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population of about 2 million. It was the capital of Kazakhstan from 1929 to ...

burned down after

Molotov cocktail A Molotov cocktail (among several other names – ''see other names'') is a hand thrown incendiary weapon constructed from a frangible container filled with flammable substances equipped with a fuse (typically a glass bottle filled with flamma ...

s were thrown into the building. On 16 June, a man claiming to be from the Interior Ministry told Baysetova that her daughter had been arrested for possession of

heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a potent opioid mainly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Medical grade diamorphine is used as a pure hydrochloride salt. Various white and brow ...

and had subsequently fallen ill. She was not allowed to see her daughter until June 21 when she was informed that she was dead. The circumstances of the case (and particularly Leyla Baysetova's death) remain disputed. The local police authorities claim that she was a drug addict who hanged herself with her jeans in a moment of temporary insanity. However, Kazakh television have questioned the police's findings, stating that no attempts was made to analyze the deceased's blood to determine if she had indeed taken drugs and that no jeans were presented as evidence. On October 3, 2002

Canadian Journalists for Free Expression Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE) is a Canadian non-governmental organization supported by Canadian journalists and advocates of freedom of expression. The purpose of the organization is to defend the rights of journalists and co ...

(CJFE) awarded an International Press Freedom Award to Baysetova.

References

Kazakhstani journalists Kazakhstani women journalists Year of birth missing (living people) Living people {{Kazakhstan-journalist-stub