Kazakhstan's Supreme Court sentenced Akezhan Kazhegeldin in absentia on 6 September to 10 years imprisonment on charges of abuse of his official position, tax evasion, and illegal possession of arms. The prosecution had demanded a 12-year sentence. Kazhegeldin's property in Kazakhstan has been confiscated, and he has been ordered to pay 1 billion tenges ($6.8 million) in compensation for "damage inflicted on the state." Kazhegeldin has lived in Europe and the U.S. since leaving Kazakhstan in 1999. The prosecution has sent special letters of warning to several current and former senior Kazakh government officials whose testimony failed to substantiate the charges against Kazhegeldin. (RFE/RL)