BISHKEK -- Indonesian authorities are said to have assured the Kyrgyz Foreign Ministry that the rights of a 21-year Kyrgyz woman charged with illegal drugs-trafficking will be respected, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reports.
Azamat Kaibaliev, an official at the Kyrgyz Embassy in Malaysia, told RFE/RL that the embassy is well aware of the case of Jibek Sakeeva, who is currently on trial in the Indonesian city of Bandung.
Sakeeva was arrested at Bandung international airport in October after police found one kilogram of heroin in one of the bags she was carrying.
Kaibaliev said Kyrgyz Deputy Foreign Minister Nurlan Aitmurzaev met with Indonesian officials in Jakarta, where Sakeeva's possible extradition to Kyrgyzstan was discussed.
He said the Indonesian side declined the extradition request, since the two countries do not have any bilateral treaties or agreements that might make extradition possible.
But he said Indonesian officials promised that Sakeeva's rights will be fully respected.
The case first made headlines in Kyrgyzstan on April 28, after an Indonesian journalist told RFE/RL about Sakeeva's ongoing trial.
According to the journalist, Zaky Yamani, Sakeeva went on trial in January and her verdict could be announced very soon. If convicted, she faces up to 17 years in jail.
Sakeeva claims the bag with heroin did not belong to her, but to one of her friends in Africa, who asked her to take it to Indonesia.
Kyrgyz Foreign Ministry's press service informed RFE/RL that Sakeeva's case will be discussed at a meeting in Jakarta on May 25-27 between Kyrgyz Foreign Minister Ruslan Kazakbaev and Indonesian Foreign Ministry officials.
Read more in Kyrgyz here
Azamat Kaibaliev, an official at the Kyrgyz Embassy in Malaysia, told RFE/RL that the embassy is well aware of the case of Jibek Sakeeva, who is currently on trial in the Indonesian city of Bandung.
Sakeeva was arrested at Bandung international airport in October after police found one kilogram of heroin in one of the bags she was carrying.
Kaibaliev said Kyrgyz Deputy Foreign Minister Nurlan Aitmurzaev met with Indonesian officials in Jakarta, where Sakeeva's possible extradition to Kyrgyzstan was discussed.
He said the Indonesian side declined the extradition request, since the two countries do not have any bilateral treaties or agreements that might make extradition possible.
But he said Indonesian officials promised that Sakeeva's rights will be fully respected.
The case first made headlines in Kyrgyzstan on April 28, after an Indonesian journalist told RFE/RL about Sakeeva's ongoing trial.
According to the journalist, Zaky Yamani, Sakeeva went on trial in January and her verdict could be announced very soon. If convicted, she faces up to 17 years in jail.
Sakeeva claims the bag with heroin did not belong to her, but to one of her friends in Africa, who asked her to take it to Indonesia.
Kyrgyz Foreign Ministry's press service informed RFE/RL that Sakeeva's case will be discussed at a meeting in Jakarta on May 25-27 between Kyrgyz Foreign Minister Ruslan Kazakbaev and Indonesian Foreign Ministry officials.
Read more in Kyrgyz here
