Nephew of ex-president of Kyrgyzstan released from prison

Sanjar Bakiev, the nephew of the former president of Kyrgyzstan, Kurmanbek Bakiev, has completed his prison term after being convicted of organizing mass riots, RIA Novosti reported on Wednesday, citing the Kyrgyz penal service. Sanjar Bakiev was sentenced in November 2010 to 10 years’ imprisonment for organizing riots by groups loyal to President Bakiev in the southern city of Jalal-Abad in May 2010. Former Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev © RIA Novosti Former Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev A raid of his apartment revealed a large inventory of firearms, special equipment, ammunition, computers and portable radio sets. Kyrgyzstan’s Supreme Court later cut his prison term to five years and a fine of 75,000 som (about $1,800). Kurmanbek Bakiev fled the country amid antigovernment protests in April 2010. He was sentenced in absentia to life in prison in Kyrgyzstan for his role in the uprising, which left almost 100 people dead.

http://www.rapsinews.com/judicial_news/20141120/272618412.html

Ousted Kyrgyz President Bakiev Sentenced To Life

Former Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiev has been sentenced to life in prison in absentia for involvement in the 2010 killing of protesters during the uprising that ousted him. The Bishkek Military Court also sentenced Bakiev's brother, Janysh Bakiev, who was the head of the presidential guard, and former Prime Minister Daniyar Usenov to life in prison in absentia on July 25. Another 25 defendants in the case, including several of Bakiev's relatives and associates, were sentenced to prison terms ranging between six and 25 years. The defendants were found guilty of either having fired upon or given the command to open fire on protesters in Bishkek during antigovernment protests in April 2010 that led to Bakiev's ouster. Nearly 100 people were killed and some 400 wounded in the clashes in central Bishkek. The trial started in 2011. Bakiev is living in Belarus with several family members.

http://www.rferl.org/content/bakiev-april-2010-sentence-trial-court-bishkek/25469819.html

Bubonic Plague Hits Kyrgyzstan

An outbreak of the deadly bubonic plague has tormented the former Soviet republic of Kyrgyzstan after the death of a 15-year-old boy. Three more people showed symptoms of the 'Black Death', and in total 131 came into contact with the victim. More than 800 people have been screened in the town of Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. The disease wiped out tens of millions in 14th century Europe. It was reported that 15-year-old Temirbek Isakunov died after eating a barbecued groundhog infected with the lethal virus, yet another account suggests he became infected after being bitten by an oriental flea carried by a marmot that he reportedly prepared for food. Eastern districts of the mountainous country were in 'lockdown' last night as officials sought to prevent the plague spreading. Neighbouring Kazakhstan urged its people not to travel to the country, and introduced 'special monitoring' of those crossing the border.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2403099/Kyrgyzstan-lock-boy-15-dies-bubonic-plague.html
http://ria.ru/world/20130826/958574735.html

Uzbek Border Guards Killed in Shootout on Kyrgyz Border

An Uzbek border guard was killed and another seriously injured in an exchange of fire across the Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan border on Tuesday. According to Kyrgyzstan’s border service, the incident occurred around 10:25 a.m. local time when a border guard detail comprised of three servicemen detected two Uzbek border guards who “illegally intruded into Kyrgyzstan’s territory.” In response to a demand to leave the republic’s territory, the Uzbek border guards started a “verbal argument that subsequently developed into a clash,” a representative of the Kyrgyz border service told RIA Novosti. Meanwhile, Uzbekistan’s State Border Protection Committee said the incident happened on Uzbek soil and demanded an explanation from Kyrgyzstan over the shooting, according to a statement by the State Border Protection Committee, a copy of which was obtained by RIA Novosti. It said four Kyrgyz border guards intruded into Uzbek territory and opened fire without any provocation, which is “the grossest possible violation” of the rules of conduct on the border. The committee’s press service said empty shells from the rounds fired by Kyrgyz border guards were found on Uzbekistan’s territory about 100 meters from the state border. A source in the committee later told RIA Novosti that the second border guard, who was seriously injured in the attack, died in the hospital without regaining consciousness. There are currently about 50 disputed sections on the 1,300-kilometer (800-mile) border between the two Central Asian countries, with 354 kilometers of the border yet to be delimitated.

http://en.ria.ru/world/20130723/182380466/Uzbek-Border-Guards-Killed-in-Shootout-on-Kyrgyz-Border.html

Emergency Declared as Kyrgyz Gold Mine Protest Turns Violent

Kyrgyzstan's President Almazbek Atambayev declared a state of emergency in a district in the north of the country on Friday after protests at the nation’s biggest gold mine turned into violent riots, with dozens injured. At least one protester died and some 30 others were injured on both sides on Friday, 24.kg reported, when protesters clashed with police near the huge Kumtor gold mine in northern Kyrgyzstan, which is run by Canada’s Centerra Gold. Police used firearms and tear gas to disperse the crowd as protesters threw stones. Atambayev said the protest “threatens the republic’s national security and has significantly damaged the country’s economy,” adding the resultant losses to the state’s revenues could be up to $125 million. He also claimed the stoppage of work at the mine due to the protest could “cause a serious environmental catastrophe” at the site. The protesters are demanding a bigger share of the profits from the country's most lucrative gold mine and more investment in local infrastructure.

http://en.ria.ru/world/20130531/181438091/Emergency-Declared-as-Kyrgyz-Gold-Mine-Protest-Turns-Violent.html

Kyrgyzstan Demands US to Explain Bakiyev Prosecution Dismissal

Kyrgyzstan has requested an explanation from the United States as to why a US investigation into Maxim Bakiyev, the son of the former Kyrgyz President, has been closed, Daniyar Mukashev, a Kyrgyz Foreign Ministry official told reporters on Wednesday. Bakiyev had been accused of securities fraud in the United States. Bakiyev, who headed the Central Development, Innovation and Investment Agency in Kyrgyzstan under his father's presidency, was arrested in the UK where he had been living since fleeing Kyrgyzstan after a coup there in April 2010. The US Department of Justice accused him of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and obstruction of justice, and sought to extradite him. A London court released him on bail until an extradition hearing scheduled for May 13. However, it was revealed at the end of last week that the US authorities had dismissed the investigation for lack of sufficient evidence to file charges. Bakiyev has been sentenced in absentia to 25 years in prison in Kyrgyzstan for corruption.

http://en.ria.ru/crime/20130515/181162596/Kyrgyzstan-Asks-US-to-Explain-Bakiyev-Prosecution-Dismissal.html

Kyrgyz Ex-President's Son Sentenced in Absentia to 25 Years in Jail

A Kyrgyz court has sentenced former President Kurmanbek Bakiyev's son Maxim Bakiyev to 25 years in prison for corruption in absentia, the Kyrgyz Prosecutor General's Office reported in a statement on Wednesday. In April 2010, Kurmanbek Bakiyev - who came to power following the 2005 Tulip Revolution - was ousted in a coup. Kurmanbek Bakiyev and his brother Janysh, who were placed on the international wanted list, were sentenced in February in absentia to lengthy prison terms for killing their political opponents. Meanwhile, prosecutors state that Maxim Bakiyev was involved in corruption. The actions resulted in damages of over 300 million som (about $7 million) awarded to the Kyrgyz government. In October 2012, Maxim Bakiyev was arrested in London by the law enforcement agencies upon the request of the United States. The U.S. Justice Department has accused Bakiyev of conspiring in securities fraud and the obstruction of justice. A London court has released him on bail. Meanwhile, Kyrgyzstan seeks Maxim Bakieyv's extradition.

http://www.rapsinews.com/anticorruption_news/20130327/266843776.html

US Comedy Show Mocks Kerry for ‘Kyrzakhstan’ Flub

US Secretary of State John Kerry has referred to the nonexistent country “Kyrzakhstan” in a speech last week—an apparent blend of the Central Asian nations Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. Kerry’s slip-up came during a Feb. 20 speech at the University of Virginia in which he praised the “brave employees” of the State Department and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). “They support democratic institutions in Kyrzakhstan and Georgia, mindful from our own experience that it takes a long time to get democracy right, and that it rarely happens right away,” Kerry told the audience. Late night television talk show host David Letterman on Tuesday night lampooned Kerry’s gaffe on the CBS network’s “The Late Show” in one of the comedian’s famous Top 10 lists.

http://en.ria.ru/art_living/20130227/179719518/US-Comedy-Show-Mocks-Kerry-for-Kyrzakhstan-Flub.html (video)

Uzbekistan Reopens Rail Links with Kyrgyzstan

The Uzbekistan authorities have reopened rail links at border points with Kyrgyzstan, after several weeks of closure amid civil unrest in northern Kyrgyzstan, the Kyrgyzstan state border service said on Tuesday. Uzbekistan closed its railroad and other border crossings with Kyrgyzstan earlier this month, after a group of residents from Uzbekistan's enclave of Sokh (a predominantly ethnic Tajik area which lies fully within northern Kyrgyzstan) allegedly attacked Kyrgyzstan border guards in the neighboring Batken Region and took dozens of Kyrgyz prisoners. Several Uzbek citizens were reportedly injured by gunfire during the incident, while five Kyrgyz citizens were hospitalized. The closure left both Sokh residents and Kyrgyz villages that depend largely on rail and land links with the enclave virtually isolated. Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan are holding talks on opening up the remaining closed border crossings, Kyrgyzstan’s state border service added. Tensions have existed for years between the two Central Asian countries, in part because of disputes over water resources. More recently, in 2010, inter-ethnic riots erupted in southern Kyrgyzstan between the ethnic Kyrgyz and Uzbek populations.

http://en.ria.ru/world/20130129/179107947/Uzbekistan-Reopens-Rail-Links-with-Kyrgyzstan.html

Kyrgyzstan Aims to Strip Canadian Gold Firm of Tax Status

Kyrgyzstan’s cash-strapped government wants to renegotiate its agreement with its largest foreign investor, Toronto-based Centerra Gold, and to end the company’s privileged tax regime, Economics Minister Temir Sariyev said Monday. His comments came after the Kyrgyz Cabinet of Ministers approved recommendations by a state commission on Friday to cancel Centerra’s existing contract for the high-altitude Kumtor gold mine and charge the company higher taxes. “Taxes must be paid on the basis of the country’s tax code rather than some other agreements. The existing agreement signed in 2009 stipulates special terms of operation and tax payments for Kumtor,” Sariyev said. Centerra currently pays a 13 percent tax on its gross revenue and another 1 percent into a special fund for the development of the Issyk Kul Region, where Kumtor is based. The minister said other enterprises pay 17-20 percent and are demanding comparable terms. Centerra’s management has said it may turn to international arbitration if the Kyrgyz government refuses to honor existing legal guarantees.

http://www.rapsinews.com/news/20130129/266218447.html

Belarus Asks Kyrkyzstan to Pay Pension to Ex-President

Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko in an interview suggested to the authorities of Kyrgyzstan that they transfer the pension of the ex-president of the country Kurmanbek Bakiyev, who was ousted in 2010 and fled to Belarus. Lukashenko said that Bakiyev “of course, will not die of hunger, we will not allow it, but it is necessary to transfer a pension.” Lukashenko also explained how Bakiyev turned to be in Belarus after the 2010 coup (aka the "April Revolution"). “We were not friends with Bakiyev. He had such friends as Putin, Nazarbayev. But he called me crying and asked to save children. I said: come,” the leader of Belarus recollected.  However, the Kyrgyz authorities refused to transfer the pension to Bakiyev.  Presidential adviser Farid Niyazov stated that Bakiyev is "charged in Kyrgyzstan with serious crimes" and that "the question of granting a pension to him should be solved in accordance with the legislation of Kyrgyzstan, which is only possible if the fugitive returns or is extradited to the homeland."

http://eng.24.kg/cis/2012/12/12/26890.html
http://lenta.ru/news/2012/12/11/bakiev/
http://www.knews.kg/ru/politics/25475/
http://www.lenta.ru/news/2012/12/12/bakiev/

Kyrgyz President’s Brother Escapes from Prison

Kyrgyztan ex-President Kurmanbek Bakiyev’s brother, Akhmat Bakiyev, is wanted by the police after escaping from prison.  He was convicted in 2011 on charges of orginizing mass riots and inciting ethnic hatred.  He was brought from prison camp no. 35 to a city hospital to undergo treatment for pneumonia and escaped fromm there.  Kurmanbek Bakiyev fled from Kyrgyzstan after the April, 2010, revolution and received asylum in Belarus.

http://eng.24.kg/community/2012/03/06/23287.html
http://www.kommersant.ru/doc/1887809

Fugitive Kyrgyz President Obtains Belarus Citizenship

Deposed Kyrgyzstan President Kurmanbek Bakiyev obtained the citizenship of Belarus. Bakiyev fled Kyrgyzstan in April 2010 in the wake of a coup d’état, and obtained asylum in Belarus. The General Attorney’s Office of Kyrgyzstan has requested Bakiyev’s extradition twice, but to no avail. It appears that Bakiyev obtained citizenship of Belarus in August 2010, but journalists only discovered it recently.

http://www.lenta.ru/news/2012/02/08/citizenship/

Kyrgyzstan to Ban Moon Church

Kyrgyzstan’s Prosecutor General’s Office requested a court ban on the Unification Church, the controversial religious movement founded by Korean leader Sun Myung Moon. The prosecutors ruled that the religious group is “a danger to the country’s security,” said Abdilatif Zhumabayev, who heads a government commission on religion.

http://en.rian.ru/society/20120206/171183025.html

Kyrgyzstan to Join Customs Union

The Kyrgyz government decided to join the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan, created in 2010. “God willing, we will be in the Common Economic Space from January 1,[ 2012,]” Kyrgyz Prime Minister Almazbek Atanbayev stated. Atanbayev also stressed that, although it is joining the Customs Union, Kyrgyzstan will remain a WTO member. http://kg.akipress.org/news:354181

Kyrgyzstan Names Peak after Putin

Kyrgyzstan has adopted a law naming a peak in the Tien Shan mountain system after Russian Prime Minister Putin. The bill was submitted to the legislature just before the start of negotiations on Russian natural gas export duties, and adopted just after Russia granted Kyrgyzstan an exemption from export duties. Putin Peak is 4,400meters high.

http://lenta.ru/news/2011/02/17/name/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/russian/multimedia/2011/01/110112_v_kyrgyz_putin_peak.shtml (video)

Russia's Transparency Rating Drops

Transparency International's new corruption index ranks Russia number 154 out of 178 countries, a fall from the previous rank of 146. Russia is the world's lowest-ranked major economy, with a rating of 2.2 (down from 2.1) on a scale of 1 to 10. TI reports that Russia has created the necessary laws and legal institutions, but has not taken serious steps to implement anti-corruption measures in everyday life. Elsewhere in the former USSR, the Baltic countries ranked the highest (Estonia 26th, Lithuania 46th, Latvia 59th), Georgia ranked 68th, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan were ranked below Russia, and the other countries ranked higher than Russia, but not in the top 100.

http://www.vedomosti.ru/politics/print/2010/10/26/1132227

Kyrgyz Attorneys Forced to Desert Uzbek Clients

Fifty Kyrgyzstan attorneys, representing ethnic Uzbeks who were charged with involvement in recent inter-ethnic clashes, declared that they have to refuse to participate in court hearings because security is not guaranteed for them and their families. Defendants and their attorneys have been repeatedly attacked and beaten by the relatives of Kyrgyz victims, mostly women, often right in courtrooms. During the last three days, six attorneys were beaten in courts; the judges and the police did not intervene.

http://lenta.ru/news/2010/10/15/advocates/

Rights Activist Gets Life Sentence in Kyrgyzstan

A court in Kyrgyzstan sentenced a prominent rights activist, Azimzhan Askarov, to life imprisonment on charges of organizing inter-ethnic clashes and mass disorders.  Askarov, an Uzbek by ethnic origin, was charged with organizing clashes in June of this year that resulted in, among other things, the murder of a policeman.  Kyrgyz ombudsman, Tursunbek Akun, called the charges trumped up, and criticized the judgment as "unreasonable".

http://lenta.ru/articles/2010/09/17/jail/

Kyrgyzstan Declares Economic Amnesty

Kyrgyzstan interim president Roza Otunbayeva signed a decree permitting officials of former governments who committed certain economic crimes to avoid criminal prosecution if they “voluntarily compensate” the state for the damage they inflicted. The amount of the damage to be compensated is determined by a special-purpose commission.

http://www.kyrgyz-el.kg/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1203&Itemid=1