AFP, Bishkek :
Kyrgyz ex-president Almazbek Atambayev, who faces a litany of accusations including organisation of murder and unrest, goes on trial Friday after months of political turmoil in the volatile Central Asian country.
The 63-year-old former ally of President Sooronbai Jeenbekov has been charged with corruption over the release from jail and flight to Chechnya of one of the ex-Soviet nation’s most notorious mob bosses during his presidency in 2013.
Atambayev faces up to 15 years in prison, if convicted, his lawyer Sergey Slesarev told AFP. A closed preliminary hearing on the corruption case is set to begin Friday.
The former president is also suspected of committing 13 other crimes including organisation of murder, organisation of mass disturbances and taking servicemen hostage during clashes at his residence this summer, his lawyer said.
Atambayev is the president’s former friend and was active in securing the incumbent’s election victory in 2017.
But the two subsequently fell out, roiling the impoverished country’s political elite.
Atambayev, who hails from Kyrgyzstan’s north, accused Jeenbekov of forming a “family-clan regime” along with other southern politicians.
Their standoff sparked clashes between Atambayev’s supporters and security services in August.
The conflict between the two has been watched with apprehension in Russia and China, whose political and economic influence in the country deepened during Atambayev’s rule.
Russian President Vladimir Putin whose country has a military base in Kyrgyzstan met with Atambayev and Jeenbekov separately in Moscow in July.
But the Kremlin chief’s intervention failed to defuse the conflict.
In August, Atambayev was detained in a joint police and special forces operation targeting his residence near the capital Bishkek.
An earlier raid on his compound was repulsed by armed supporters leading to the death of a special forces officer and prompting a murder investigation.
Atambayev’s arrest came after he ignored three police summonses for questioning in connection with the release of
Kyrgyz ex-president Almazbek Atambayev, who faces a litany of accusations including organisation of murder and unrest, goes on trial Friday after months of political turmoil in the volatile Central Asian country.
The 63-year-old former ally of President Sooronbai Jeenbekov has been charged with corruption over the release from jail and flight to Chechnya of one of the ex-Soviet nation’s most notorious mob bosses during his presidency in 2013.
Atambayev faces up to 15 years in prison, if convicted, his lawyer Sergey Slesarev told AFP. A closed preliminary hearing on the corruption case is set to begin Friday.
The former president is also suspected of committing 13 other crimes including organisation of murder, organisation of mass disturbances and taking servicemen hostage during clashes at his residence this summer, his lawyer said.
Atambayev is the president’s former friend and was active in securing the incumbent’s election victory in 2017.
But the two subsequently fell out, roiling the impoverished country’s political elite.
Atambayev, who hails from Kyrgyzstan’s north, accused Jeenbekov of forming a “family-clan regime” along with other southern politicians.
Their standoff sparked clashes between Atambayev’s supporters and security services in August.
The conflict between the two has been watched with apprehension in Russia and China, whose political and economic influence in the country deepened during Atambayev’s rule.
Russian President Vladimir Putin whose country has a military base in Kyrgyzstan met with Atambayev and Jeenbekov separately in Moscow in July.
But the Kremlin chief’s intervention failed to defuse the conflict.
In August, Atambayev was detained in a joint police and special forces operation targeting his residence near the capital Bishkek.
An earlier raid on his compound was repulsed by armed supporters leading to the death of a special forces officer and prompting a murder investigation.
Atambayev’s arrest came after he ignored three police summonses for questioning in connection with the release of
