BISHKEK -- Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov has dismissed Health Minister Alymkadyr Beishenaliev, who was arrested for alleged graft and other wrongdoing related to vaccines and purported remedies for COVID-19.
The Kyrgyz presidential press service said Japarov signed the decree to fire Beishenaliev on August 19.
Beishenaliev was detained in early June along with two subordinates on charges of corruption, extortion, and abuse of office as part of a series of corruption cases at the ministry. About two weeks later he was transferred to house arrest.
Beishenaliev's lawyer, Kaisyn Abakirov, said earlier this week that the Interior Ministry dropped the charge of corruption linked to allegedly misusing state funds when buying COVID-19 vaccines in 2021. Investigations into the other charges continue.
Beishenaliev was named health minister after a new government was established following mass anti-government protests in October 2020. The unrest was sparked by parliamentary elections that many in the Central Asian country said were rigged.
He was also at the center of a scandal last year after he promoted a toxic substance -- a solution with extracts of aconite root -- as a treatment for COVID-19. Several people were hospitalized after using the solution.
Aconite roots contain aconitine, a cardiotoxin and neurotoxin. Consuming aconite root can lead to sickness or even death.