A judge yesterday threw out an appeal by the former Prime Minister of Kazakhstan after his request for the police to prosecute his political rival seeking refuge in Malta was dismissed by a magistrate.

Mr Justice Michael Mallia refused to take cognisance of the appeal after a mistake in the appeal document led Deputy Attorney General Donatella Frendo Dimech to call for its annulment.

Mr Justice Mallia did not have the jurisdiction to hear the case

Dr Frendo Dimech noted the appeal was filed in the Court of Criminal Appeal when it should have been the Criminal Court.

Akezhan Kazhegeldin, who served as Prime Minister until he resigned in October 1997 for health reasons, and his bodyguards, Satzhan Ibraev and Pyotr Afanasenko, insist that Rakhat Aliyev, who resides in Malta, should be prosecuted for “crimes against humanity”.

Their first attempt to prosecute Mr Aliyev was dismissed by Magistrate Antonio Mizzi.

They accused Mr Aliyev, who now uses his wife’s surname, Shoraz, of being responsible for the illegal detention and torture of the two bodyguards during the administration of his father-in-law, former Kazakh dictator Nursultan Nazarbayev.

Among other things, Magistrate Mizzi had ruled that, by law, Mr Kazhegeldin, Mr Ibraev and Mr Afanasenko should have filed a sworn statement about their allegations.

Furthermore, the Police Commissioner was not empowered to institute the criminal proceedings requested because the consent of the Attorney General would be required.

Lawyer Malcolm Mifsud, appearing for the three men, argued that the oversight in the appeal document should not hinder the case, which had been dragging on for months.

Dr Frendo Dimech argued that the court could never correct such errors and that it should have been filed correctly in the first place.

Mr Justice Mallia decreed that he did not have the jurisdiction to hear the case in the way that it had been filed and so dismissed the appeal.