Bishkek Recalls Ambassador To Belarus Over Bakievs

Kyrgyzstan wants Janysh Bakiev extradited.

Kyrgyzstan's Foreign Ministry said on August 24 that it has recalled its ambassador to Belarus, Erik Asanaliev, "for consultations."

The ministry explained the move by "the absence of reaction by Belarusian officials to Kyrgyzstan's verbal message demanding the immediate arrest and extradition of Janysh Bakiev," a brother of ousted Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiev.

Janysh Bakiev's photo allegedly taken in Minsk last week has been circulating on the Internet.

Kurmanbek Bakiev fled Kyrgyzstan in the wake of antigovernment protests in April 2010 and has been living in Belarus since then.

The ousted president, his brother Janysh, and more than 20 former associates are being tried in absentia in connection with the deaths of nearly 100 people when security forces fired on protesters during the upheaval.

Belarus has refused to extradite the ex-president.