Kyrgyz Opposition Activist's Daughter Briefly Abducted

Opposition member Abdymamet Zakirov

OSH, Kyrgyzstan -- Police in southern Kyrgyzstan say the daughter of an opposition leader was abducted on March 31 for several hours, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reports.

Cholponai Abdymamet Kyzy, the daughter of oppositionist Abdymamet Zakirov, told RFE/RL that three men forced her into a car near her university in Osh after classes at 2 p.m. She said she managed to shout to her classmate that she was being kidnapped.

Zakirov heads the Osh branch of the opposition Ata-Meken (Fatherland) party.

Her parents and local police managed to locate her and the kidnappers four hours later in the Osh suburbs. She told RFE/RL that her abductors intimidated her and told her that her father "should be careful."

Zakirov and members of his party told RFE/RL that they think the abduction was a warning to them.

Regional police spokesman Zamirbek Sadykov told RFE/RL that three suspects have been detained and an investigation is under way. He said the incident could have been a "bride kidnapping," a fairly usual practice in Kyrgyzstan.