ALMATY, Kazakhstan — An international media rights group has condemned a Kazakh court's decision to ban media from publishing material critical of the president's powerful son-in-law.

The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists late Thursday urged the court in Almaty to lift the "unacceptable gag order."

The court ruled that a letter from a government opponent published in several local papers insulted the "honor and dignity" of President Nursultan Nazarbayev's son-in-law, Timur Kulibayev.

Kulibayev serves as a deputy chief of the national welfare fund in charge of the country's vast energy riches. He is widely seen as a likely successor to Nazarbayev.

(AP)