On September 27, 2012 he speaker of Kyrgyzstan’s parliament used his address to the 67th United Nations General Assembly in New York to call on Belarusian authorities to extradite former president Kurmanbek Bakiev and his brother Zhanysh.
“We hope that the authorities of Belarus, which is an ally of Kyrgyzstan within the CSTO and EurAsEC and which has undertaken obligations under the Minsk and Chisinau conventions, will display their adherence to international legal obligations and deliver the relatives and associates of Kurmanbek Bakiyev, former president of Kyrgyzstan, who have been hiding in its territory and even own Belarusian passports,” Asilbek Zheyenbekov said.
According to the top official, former Kyrgyz leader and his close associates should be subject to punishment in strict accordance with the Kyrgyz law.
The Kyrgyz side stressed that their persecution is not politically motivated. “These people are accused of specific criminal acts, they gave orders to use firearms against peaceful citizens, kill people who were undesirable to them, they stole from their own people and the country’s budget and moved huge financial assets from Kyrgyzstan,” the Kyrgyz speaker said.
Bakiev found shelter in Belarus
Former Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev, his brother Zhanybek and son Marat were charged in absentia with slaughter and put on the international wanted list. Moreover, Mr. Bakiyev, who was the head of Kurmanbek Bakiyev’s presidential guard service, and his people are the prime suspects in the murder in March 2009 of Medet Sadyrkulov, a former head of the Presidential Administration; Sergei Slepchenko, director of the International Institute for Strategic Studies, and Kubat Sulaymanov, the driver of the car they were in.
Zhanybek Bakiyev happened to be in Minsk: Mikhail Pashkevich, a civil activist, took a picture of the suspect when the latter was leaving a café surrounded by his security guards.
On August 24 Kyrgyzstan recalled its ambassador from Belarus. It is the pictures of Zhanybek Bakiyev that became the ground for such a serious measure.
On August 28 a protest action flared up in front of the building of the Belarusian Embassy in Bishkek: dozens of people showered stones upon the Belarusian embassy and broke windows. The participants of the action demand to close the embassy down and break off diplomatic relations with the Belarusian authorities, which “harbour the murderers”.
Kurmanbek Bakiyev, his life partner and two children arrived in Belarus on personal invitation of Aliaksandr Lukashenka. Kyrgyzstan authorities repeatedly filed a request for Bakiev’s extradition to the Prosecutor General’s Office but were denied. According to unconfirmed reports, Kurmanbek Bakiyev was granted Belarusian citizenship in 2010. Earlier this year, he reportedly bought a house on the outskirts of Minsk for $2 million.
Belsat
