Watchdog

BISHKEK -- A court in Bishkek has acquitted former Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambaev in two corruption cases dating back several years unrelated to the crime for which he is currently serving an 11-year prison sentence.

The Birinchi Mai district court on June 16 found Atambaev not guilty of illegally granting Kyrgyz citizenship to Turkish nationals in 2016 and illegal allocating land for a school in Bishkek in 2014.

The 11-year prison term that Atambaev is currently serving was handed down in 2020 for his role in the illegal release of notorious crime boss Aziz Batukaev.

The 65-year-old, who has complained of health problems, was transferred last month from prison to a hospital and was present at the hearings for the citizenship and land allocation trials.

Atambaev is currently involved in two other trials in which he faces more serious charges.

One trial is over a charge of attempting to seize power during anti-government protests in October 2020 that were sparked by controversial parliamentary elections seen by many as rigged.

Atambaev was released during the protests and joined them along with several other politicians. He was later rearrested and returned to prison.

The other trial is linked to two days of violence at his compound near Bishkek that was sparked by his refusal to obey three summons to appear at the Interior Ministry for questioning about Batukaev’s release.

The 2019 standoff between security forces and his supporters resulted in the death of a senior security officer and more than 170 injuries -- 79 of them sustained by law enforcement officers.

In that case, the former president and 13 others are charged with murder, attempted murder, threatening or assaulting representatives of authorities, hostage-taking, and the forcible seizure of power.

Earlier this month, Atambaev was additionally charged with abuse of office over deadly ethnic clashes in 2010 that claimed almost 450 lives. At that time, Atambaev led an interim government following violent anti-government protests that toppled then-President Kurmanbek Bakiev.

A blogger from Russia's North Caucasus charged with terrorism -- which she rejects as an attempt to stop her investigative reporting -- has fled house arrest and is currently trapped on the Russian-Georgian border as the authorities in Tbilisi debate what to do.

Yegor Kuroptev, the director of Free Russia Foundation in Georgia, said on Telegram on June 16 that Insa Lander fled her native Kabardino-Balkaria region five days before and had been stuck in a neutral segment of the border since then without food or water.

"When we and representatives of Georgia's ombudsman tried to go and meet with her, police stopped us. We turned to Georgia's Foreign Ministry and the Interior Ministry, but they have yet to decide what moves can be made," Kuroptev said.

Lithuania's ambassador to Georgia, Andrius Kalindra, told a conference in Tbilisi on June 16 where Kuroptev was present that his country was ready to provide Lander with a visa if she is allowed to enter Georgia.

Lander, who resided in Moscow for many years, was arrested in Kabardino-Balkaria in December 2021 when she came to visit relatives.

She was charged with recruiting a person to a terrorist group. The charge was based on an online chat she had with an acquaintance.

Lander and her supporters have rejected the charge, saying the case was fabricated to stop her from investigating alleged corruption at a charity foundation led by a top official in Kabardino-Balkaria.