Rakhat Aliyev, the Kazakh president's ex son-in-law turned political opponent, has been found dead in an Austrian prison.
Mr Aliyev, former ambassador to Vienna, was found on Tuesday morning after hanging himself, media reports say.
But his lawyers have cast doubt on claims his death was a suicide and have called for an investigation.
Mr Aliyev had been awaiting trial for the murder of two bankers in Kazakhstan after Austria refused extradition.
He had been due to testify on Tuesday against two former cellmates accused of blackmailing him with the threat of getting him killed in a way that would look like suicide.
Mr Aliyev had been moved to a single cell after the threat become public and was not under suicide watch.
Speaking to the Austrian press agency APA, one of his lawyers called for a full investigation into his death.
"I visited him only yesterday. There was absolutely no indication of a danger of suicide."Mr Aliyev was first charged in 2007, with Austria twice turning down extradition requests on the grounds that he would not receive a fair trial in Kazakhstan. He had been in custody since June after turning himself in once Austria had agreed to hold the trial.
He had denied the murder charges, saying they were politically motivated.
A businessman with wide contacts among the Kazakh elite, he spoke out against Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev after being sacked as ambassador.
He was formerly married to Dariga Nazarbayeva, eldest daughter of Mr Nazarbayev, an authoritarian ruler who has cracked down hard on any dissent.
The case has received huge publicity in Austria with leading lawyers involved in the proceedings, and accusations that the Kazakh secret service had tried to influence the justice process.
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