Ex-Kyrgyzstan President Charged with Murder, Plotting Coup
Posted: Tue Aug 13, 2019 5:39 am
FILE - Kyrgyz former President Almazbek Atambayev, who was stripped of legal immunity after a parliamentary vote, and his supporters attend a meeting with journalists in the village of Koy-Tash near Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan June 27, 2019.
Almazbek Atambayev, Kyrgyzstan's former president, has been charged with plotting to overthrow the government and murder.
Authorities arrested Atambayev during a raid on his house last Thursday after an attempt to take him into custody a day earlier turned violent when his supporters clashed with police, leaving a security officer dead. Atambayev had been wanted for questioning over a corruption case.
Atambayev's arrest could escalate a lingering feud with his hand-picked successor, Sooronbai Jeenbekov, which could plunge the Central Asian country and ex-Soviet republic into a political crisis. Atambayev served as Kyrgyzstan's president between 2011 and 2017.