Bermet Akaeva (file photo) (RFE/RL)
April 24, 2006 -- The elder daughter of Kyrgyzstan's former president Askar Akaev was detained today by authorities in Bishkek for questioning as a witness in criminal probes against her husband and her brother.
Bermet Akaeva was taken to the National Security Service headquarters in the capital, Bishkek. She was released after more than three hours of questioning.
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She told reporters later that she had refused to answer questions about the business activities of her husband and brother, and about a charity foundation once run by her mother.
In Moscow, her father denounced the detention as "a premeditated political act" directed against him and his family.
Akaeva is the only member of her family to return to Kyrgyzstan after an uprising ousted her father in March 2005. She lost her parliamentary seat last year and was deprived of legal immunity.
(compiled from agency reports)
RFE/RL Central Asia Report
RFE/RL Central Asia Report
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