The Kazakh Interior Ministry has announced the arrest of a close associate of Kyrgyzstan's former President Kurmanbek Bakiev.
The ministry said on September 5 that Paizulabek Rakhmanov was detained in Kazakhstan's southern Jambyl region in mid-June.
It's not clear why the arrest was not announced until now.
Rakhmanov, who led Kyrgyzstan's State Material Reserves Agency during Bakiev's presidency, is wanted in Kyrgyzstan for alleged financial wrongdoing.
Rakhmanov was detained in possession of a Belarusian passport in a false name -- a circumstance that analysts say could complicate his extradition to Kyrgyzstan.
Rakhmanov fled Kyrgyzstan shortly after the violent antigovernment protests in April 2010 that led to Bakiev's ouster.
Bakiev, who has been living in Belarus since his ouster, is currently being tried in absentia in Kyrgyzstan, along with his brother Janysh, over the deaths of nearly 100 protesters.
Meanwhile, the Belarusian Prosecutor-General's Office has announced it has rejected a request from Kyrgyzstan for the extradition of Janysh Bakiev.
In a statement on its website, the Prosecutor-General's Office criticized the Kyrgyz request as "politically motivated."
The statement said Belarus had informed Kyrgyzstan about its opinion in June.
It was not known widely that Janysh Bakiev was living in Belarus until photographs allegedly showing him in Minsk began circulating on the Internet in mid-August.
Former President Kurmanbek Bakiev has been living in Belarus since his 2010 ouster. The Bakiev brothers are being tried in absentia in Kyrgyzstan in connection with the deaths of nearly 100 people during the April 2010 uprising against the former president's rule.
The ministry said on September 5 that Paizulabek Rakhmanov was detained in Kazakhstan's southern Jambyl region in mid-June.
It's not clear why the arrest was not announced until now.
Rakhmanov, who led Kyrgyzstan's State Material Reserves Agency during Bakiev's presidency, is wanted in Kyrgyzstan for alleged financial wrongdoing.
Rakhmanov was detained in possession of a Belarusian passport in a false name -- a circumstance that analysts say could complicate his extradition to Kyrgyzstan.
Rakhmanov fled Kyrgyzstan shortly after the violent antigovernment protests in April 2010 that led to Bakiev's ouster.
Bakiev, who has been living in Belarus since his ouster, is currently being tried in absentia in Kyrgyzstan, along with his brother Janysh, over the deaths of nearly 100 protesters.
Meanwhile, the Belarusian Prosecutor-General's Office has announced it has rejected a request from Kyrgyzstan for the extradition of Janysh Bakiev.
In a statement on its website, the Prosecutor-General's Office criticized the Kyrgyz request as "politically motivated."
The statement said Belarus had informed Kyrgyzstan about its opinion in June.
It was not known widely that Janysh Bakiev was living in Belarus until photographs allegedly showing him in Minsk began circulating on the Internet in mid-August.
Former President Kurmanbek Bakiev has been living in Belarus since his 2010 ouster. The Bakiev brothers are being tried in absentia in Kyrgyzstan in connection with the deaths of nearly 100 people during the April 2010 uprising against the former president's rule.
