Kyrgyzstan Hopes Minsk to Extradite Bakiyev
Minsk is responsible for the duration of “consultation” of Kyrgyzstan Ambassador to Belarus.
Kurmanbek Bakiyev (second from the left) and Janysh Bakiyev (second from the right) diring Kyrgyz Riots in 2010.
Kyrgyzstan hopes that the Belarusian authorities will take “exhaustive” efforts to arrest and extradite Janysh (Janybek) Bakiyev, Dmitry Li, a counselor at the Kyrgyz embassy in Minsk, said at a news conference on August 27.
The news conference came three days after Kyrgyzstan recalled its ambassador to Belarus, Erik Asanaliev, “for consultations” over Minsk’s refusal to hand over Mr. Bakiyev, who is wanted by Kyrgyz law enforcement agencies and Interpol for “grave criminal offenses”.
Mr. Li stressed that Bishkek expected Minsk to extradite the brother of former Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev in accordance with “existing international agreements” signed by both countries.
Mr. Li said that the duration of the ambassador's absence from Belarus would depend on the Belarusian authorities' decision on Mr. Bakiyev's extradition.
The row erupted after Janysh Bakiyev was spotted and photographed in downtown Minsk on August 17 by Belarusian opposition activist Mikhail Pashkievich.
Mr. Bakiyev, who was the head of Kurmanbek Bakiyev’s presidential security service, was photographed along with Tahir Rysaliev, 55, the former deputy head of the service who was a fellow university student of Zhanybek Bakiyev, and Rustam Sayduev, 36, a friend of Kurmanbek Bakiyev’s son Maksim.
All the three are the prime suspects in the murder of Medet Sadyrkulov, a former head of the Presidential Administration; Sergei Slepchenko, director of the International Institute for Strategic Studies, and Kubat Sulaymanov, their driver.
Janysh Bakiyev is also believed to have given the order to shoot at a crowd of protesters in Bishkek in April 2010, which left more than 80 people dead.
Kurmanbek Bakiyev fled Kyrgyzstan after being overthrown as a result of violent anti-government protests in his country and resurfaced in Minsk in late April 2010. He was offered refuge by Aliaksandr Lukashenka, who said later that he had received Mr. Bakiyev as a head of state, not as an outlaw.
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.
The former Kyrgyz president has five brothers: Zhanybek, Kanybek, Marat, Akmat and Adyl. One more brother, Jusup, died in 2006.