Kyrgyzstan Urges to Extradite Bakiyev, His Associates in UN GA Address

The speaker of Kyrgyzstan's parliament used his September 27 address to the UN General Assembly in New York to urge the Belarusian authorities to hand over relatives and associates of toppled President Kurmanbek Bakiyev.

“We are still hoping that the authorities of Belarus, which is an ally of Kyrgyzstan within the CSTO [Collective Security Treaty Organization] and EurAsEC [Eurasian Economic Community] and which has undertaken obligations under the Minsk and Chisinau conventions, will display their adherence to international legal obligations and hand over the relatives and associates of Kurmanbek Bakiyev, former president of Kyrgyzstan, who have been hiding on its territory and even have Belarusian passports,” RIA Novosti quoted Asilbek Jeenbekov as saying.

The parliamentary speaker warned that Mr. Bakiyev and members of his entourage, who fled Kyrgyzstan following a popular uprising in the spring of 2010, must be brought to justice in accordance with the Central Asian country's laws.

“The Kyrgyz side stresses that their prosecution is not politically motivated cases,” Mr. Jeenbekov said. “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.”

He called for “setting clear standards and procedures for ensuring justice at the international level" and "returning money earned through fraud.”

Kyrgyzstan has repeatedly asked Belarus to arrest and extradite Kurmanbek Bakiyev, his brother Janybek (Janysh) and their associates who have been given refuge by Minsk. They are on Interpol's and the CIS' wanted list.

Kurmanbek and Janybek Bakiyev have been given refuge by Belarus after fleeing Kyrgyzstan in 2010. Belarus has rejected Kyrgyzstan's requests for their extradition, claiming that their prosecution would be politically motivated.

Earlier this year, Kyrgyzstan recalled its ambassador from Belarus, while the area around the Belarusian embassy in Bishkek became the scene of regular street protests.

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: Janybek, Kanybek, Marat, Akmat and Adyl. One more brother, Jusup, died in 2006.

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