Kyrgyz President Cites Foreign Risk To Defend Closed-Door Trial Of Politicians, Journalists, Activists

Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov has defended a decision to hold a closed trial of dozens of politicians, journalists, and activists charged in connection with objections to a Kyrgyz-Uzbek border demarcation deal. Speaking to the second gathering of a controversial new government body called the People's Congress (Kurultai) on December 16, Japarov said an organizer in the so-called Kempir-Abad case had "received money from the ambassador" of an unnamed country and the disclosure could "break" the Kyrgyz relationship with that state. One defendant, opposition politician Azimbek Bekhazarov, has argued from pretrial detention for the trial to be held in public. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service, click here.