Their assessment pulls away the thin democratic veil that the Kazakh authorities had tried to drape over the election.

After Mr. Cohen's MTV appearance last fall the Kazakh authorities stripped his site of its original domain name, .

The Kazakh authorities are investigating and we will stay in close touch with them.

The Kazakh authorities believe the attack was undertaken by a member of an organised crime group.

Rao said, "The credit has to be given to the Kazakh authorities.

He told the Associated Press shortly after his arrest that Kazakh authorities had employed "the dirtiest, most deceitful means to discredit me" in the eyes of Western governments.

The Kazakh authorities say 16 people died in rioting, but local trade unions have estimated as many as 60 were killed in the clashes.

As you are aware, the Kazakh authorities have rejected claims that the judgment against Mr Zhovtis was politically motivated.

Various signals emerged from discussions with the Kazakh authorities.

In 2001, Kazakh authorities reported 1,320 cases of drug trafficking and seized 18 metric tons of narcotics.