Jailed Former Kyrgyz President Transferred To Penal Colony For Sick Inmates

BISHKEK — A lawyer for Kyrgyzstan’s former President Almazbek Atambaev says he has been transferred from a detention center in Bishkek to a penal colony where inmates with medical conditions are treated.

Zamir Jooshev told RFE/RL on January 4 that his client was transferred late last month to the capital’s Correctional Colony No. 47 because he was suffering from fluctuating blood pressure.

Atambaev, 64, was sentenced to 11 years and two months in prison in June over his involvement in the release of a notorious crime boss in 2013.

In November, the Supreme Court ruled to send the case back to a Bishkek district court for retrial. A reason for the decision was not immediately given.

Atambaev has denied any wrongdoing.

In early October, he was released from custody and rearrested four days later and charged with organizing an illegal demonstration as the country was rocked by mass protests against the official results of parliamentary elections.

Atambaev was arrested in August 2020 after he surrendered to police following a deadly two-day standoff between security forces and his supporters that led to the death of a top security officer and more than 170 injured.

The former president and 13 other people were charged with murder, attempted murder, threatening or assaulting representatives of authorities, hostage taking, and the forcible seizure of power.