Troops seize former Kyrgyz leader in raid
THE former president of Kyrgyzstan Almazbek Atambayev was yesterday seized from his fortified compound by special forces troops – ending a sixweek stand-off as he fought to avoid standing trial on corruption charges.
His detention followed a botched attempt to arrest him on Wednesday when at least one soldier was killed and 52 people injured in clashes with his supporters near the capital, Bishkek.
Before his capture, Mr Atambayev, 62, was branded a criminal by his mentor-turned-nemesis, President Sooronbai Jeenbekov, 60.
“By putting up fierce armed resistance to the investigative measures undertaken within the framework of the law, Almazbek Atambayev heavily trampled upon the constitution and laws of Kyrgyzstan,” he said.
The arrest of Mr Atambayev, who was president from 2011 until 2017, ends a stand-off which began when Parliament voted to strip him of his immunity from prosecution.
But Erica Marat, associate professor at the National Defense University in Washington DC, said that the violent end to the dispute had weakened a nation already considered the least stable country in Central Asia.
“My biggest worry is Kyrgyzstan has entered a phase of political instability with Atambayev’s followers protesting against his trial,” she said.
One Western source based in Bishkek said the botched security operation aired on TV was “utterly embarrassing” for the security forces.