BISHKEK -- Kyrgyz activist and government critic Emil Bekiev, who was deported from Russia in September, has been sentenced to six years in prison on charges of plotting mass unrest, which he rejects.
The Birinchi Mai district court in Bishkek said on June 13 that it sentenced Bekiev 11 days earlier after finding him guilty of plotting mass unrest, calling for the seizure of power, and inciting hatred. According to the court's statement, Bekiev pleaded not guilty, saying that videos he placed on the Internet, which led to the probe against him, had not called for such actions.
Bekiev was arrested immediately after he was deported from Russia on September 7 last year.
Kyrgyzstan's State Committee of National Security (UKMK) said at the time that he had been charged with serious crimes stemming from videos he posted on Facebook that "could cause violence and hatred" in Kyrgyz society.
No details were given about the videos. Bekiev was one of the coordinators of a rally organized by Kyrgyz activists from the Butun Kyrgyzstan (United Kyrgyzstan) party in the Russian capital, Moscow, in November 2021.
Moscow police detained Bekiev at the time and later a court in the Russian capital sentenced him to 15 days in jail on a charge of violating regulations for holding public events.
In March last year, a court in the Urals city of Chelyabinsk annulled Bekiev's Russian citizenship due to "multiple violations of legislation of the Russian Federation and his anti-Russia activities."
Moscow's Preobrazhensky district court subsequently ruled to deport him after the Federal Security Service stated that Bekiev’s stay in Russia was undesirable due to his being a follower of radical Islamic teachings and because his activities "threaten public safety and incite interethnic hatred and discord."
Bekiev has been known for his harsh criticism of Kyrgyzstan’s authorities.