BISHKEK -- Kyrgyzstan's acting chief mufti, Suyun-Hajji Kuluev, has been hospitalized after being beaten during a religious gathering in the capital Bishkek, his family has told RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service.
Kuluev's relatives told RFE/RL that about a dozen unidentified assailants attacked him on June 6 during a gathering of religious clerics and that he was hospitalized with concussion and injuries.
The Interior Ministry's press service told RFE/RL that since Kuluev has not filed an official complaint, no details of the incident are available.
The press service of the Muftiat, the country's highest religious authority, told RFE/RL that the attackers were shouting that Kuluev must resign.
Kuluev was recently named acting top cleric following the resignation of Abdushukur-hajji Narmatov.
Narmatov, in turn, had replaced long-serving mufti Murataaly-Hajji Juman-uulu, who stepped down following the deadly clashes between antigovernment protesters and security forces on April 7 that led to the resignation of Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiev.
Juman-uulu was later kidnapped and taken to the outskirts of Bishkek. His abductors demanded a $1 million ransom. He was released in late April.
Kuluev's relatives told RFE/RL that about a dozen unidentified assailants attacked him on June 6 during a gathering of religious clerics and that he was hospitalized with concussion and injuries.
The Interior Ministry's press service told RFE/RL that since Kuluev has not filed an official complaint, no details of the incident are available.
The press service of the Muftiat, the country's highest religious authority, told RFE/RL that the attackers were shouting that Kuluev must resign.
Kuluev was recently named acting top cleric following the resignation of Abdushukur-hajji Narmatov.
Narmatov, in turn, had replaced long-serving mufti Murataaly-Hajji Juman-uulu, who stepped down following the deadly clashes between antigovernment protesters and security forces on April 7 that led to the resignation of Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiev.
Juman-uulu was later kidnapped and taken to the outskirts of Bishkek. His abductors demanded a $1 million ransom. He was released in late April.