Reporters Without Borders reported that, during the previous week, the editor had been the subject of specific threats following an interview she had conducted with Geneva general prosecutor, Bernard Bertossa (on 10 May 2002) concerning the Swiss bank accounts of several top Kazakh officials, including President Nursultan Nazarbayev.
A week later, the headless body of a dog was found hanging over the entrance of the offices of another opposition newspaper (Soldat), which was set to publish Baysetova's interview with Bertossa.
On 22 May (the day the interview was published), unidentified men attacked Soldat's premises, beating up two employees, stealing computers and smashing equipment.
The local police authorities claim that she was a drug addict who hanged herself with her jeans in a moment of temporary insanity.
However, Kazakh television have questioned the police's findings, stating that no attempts was made to analyze the deceased's blood to determine if she had indeed taken drugs and that no jeans were presented as evidence.