Kyrgyz Ex-President 'Taken Into Custody' As Troops Storm Compound
KOI TASH, Kyrgyzstan -- Kyrgyz special police forces have stormed the residential compound of Almazbek Atambaev and reportedly arrested him following a night of violent clashes with his supporters that left one officer dead and dozens injured.Local media, including Interfax and the news website 24.kg, reported that Atambaev was taken from the site on the outskirts of Bishkek in a police convoy that was headed to the Interior Ministry headquarters in the capital.
Interfax added that Farid Niyazov, Atambaev's public defender, and Social Democrat party deputy chairwoman Kunduz Zholdubaeva accompanied Atambaev with police.
RFE/RL correspondents, who could not independently confirm the arrest, said police were using stun grenades and tear gas as they entered the compound, where hundreds of supporters, and Atambaev, were holed up. They also said gunshots could be heard.
The arrest comes after an earlier failed attempt to apprehend the 62-year-old, who faces five counts of criminally abusing his office when he was Kyrgyzstan's president from 2011 to 2017 -- including corruption, abuse of office, and illegally enriching himself. Atambaev rejects the charges.
During that failed attempt on August 7, six special police forces were taken hostage by Atambaev's supporters during skirmishes that left at least 80 injured. Earlier on August 8, the six were released.
President Sooronbai Jeenbekov and Atambaev traded barbs after the violence, with the former close allies blaming each other for the bloodshed.
Speaking at the extraordinary session of the National Security Council on August 8, Jeenbekov said Atambaev carries full responsibility for the deadly violence.
"By putting up fierce armed resistance to the investigative measures undertaken within the framework of the law, Almazbek Atambaev gravely trampled upon the constitution and laws of Kyrgyzstan," Jeenbekov said.
"If before yesterday Atambaev was summoned to investigation as a witness, now he will be treated as someone accused of committing a serious crime," he added.
Authorities first moved in on the former president's compound to carry out a subpoena in an unspecified investigation but were met with armed resistance by Atambaev’s supporters.
He called the attempt to arrest him unconstitutional and illegal and told reporters at the compound on August 8 that it is Jeenbekov and his government who carry responsibility for the violence because of how they conducted the raid.
“Yesterday they did not say they came to take me for questioning, they came like gangsters and started shooting at people. For one or two months I have been saying that I will use arms to protect myself if somebody dares to trespass upon my home. I have a pistol that I received as a gift and a rifle,” Atambaev said.
The former president had called on his supporters on August 8 to head to the Media Forum building in Bishkek, which he owns and which houses the Aprel TV company. The rally was later called off.
Atambaev said he has offered to provide written responses to questions, but “the authorities did not heed my calls to act within the confines of the law…. I am ready to answer any questions, because there was no corruption,” he said.
Apart from the special-forces member who died of his wounds, the Health Ministry said 15 police officers were among the 80 wounded in the first clash.
Two of the hostages released on August 8 had suffered gunshot wounds, the ministry added.
Chui regional police Chief Samat Kurmankulov was among the injured. Doctors performed brain surgery on Kurmankulov and he is in critical condition, the Health Ministry said, after being hit by a rock thrown at him.
Jeenbekov and Atambaev have traded accusations of incompetence and a lack of professionalism in recent months.
The storming of the compound comes after Deputy Interior Minister Mirlan Kanimetov and several other officials visited Atambaev on July 22 after he had refused to obey a subpoena for a third time.
Under Kyrgyz law, a person who refuses to comply with two subpoenas can be forcibly detained for questioning.
After parliament on June 27 voted to strip immunity from prosecution for former presidents, the embattled Atambaev has spent most of his time at his residential compound and has publicly stated that he has weapons.
His lawyer has called the immunity vote unconstitutional.
Kyrgystan saw a smooth and peaceful transfer of power from Atambaev to Jeenbekov, which was welcomed by the international community after the two previous presidential changes -- in 2005 and 2010 -- came after
violent rioting.
The former Soviet republic remains closely allied with Russia, which operates a military base in the northern Kyrgyz town of Kant.
Last month Atambaev flew on a private plane to Moscow to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
After the meeting Putin called for political stability in Kyrgyzstan and unity around the incumbent president to aid in the country's development.
The head of Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service on August 8 called on "all sides" in the conflict to show restraint while sorting out the situation.
RFERL
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