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Former President of the Kyrgyz Republic in Central Asia, Almasbek Atambayev, who was released from the protests, has been arrested again. This was confirmed by the State Committee for National Security in the capital Bishkek on Saturday. He was charged with organizing mass riots, he said in a statement.
Atambayev and two colleagues are said to have been detained by special forces at their residence in the village of Koj-Tash, near the capital. The protesters had released the 64-year-old man from a prison earlier in the week.
Political chaos has been raging in the tiny former Soviet republic for about a week. The impoverished country of around six million people may face new upheaval after two revolutions. The trigger for the crisis was the massive manipulation in the parliamentary elections a week ago. The electoral commission canceled the vote after the riots.
The protesters are also demanding the resignation of President Sooronbay Dscheenbekov, who has been in office since 2017. The latter had already announced that he was ready to resign “as soon as the legitimate executive authorities are confirmed” and that a date had been set for new elections. Dscheenbekow also removed the government and thus accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Kubatbek Boronov.
In the end, Dscheenbekow imposed a state of emergency in the capital. There is a night curfew and protests are prohibited. The military patrolled the streets. The army is said to be in the center of Bishkek with armored vehicles.
Former head of state Atambayev still has many supporters in the former Soviet republic. He was sentenced to about 11 years in prison in June for corruption. It is said that he helped a convicted criminal escape during his tenure. He himself sees the accusations as politically motivated. The Social Democrat led the country from 2011 to 2017.
