The only member of Kurmanbek Bakiyev’s family to be imprisoned following the ex-president’s bloody 2010 overthrow has gone missing, according to Kyrgyzstan’s penal service.
On March 6, parliament deputies began inquiring about rumors that Akhmat Bakiyev – who was charged with organizing unrest in Jalal-Abad following his brother’s ouster and sentenced to seven years in a high-security penitentiary – had disappeared from a Bishkek hospital. He had been taken to the hospital in late January, after getting transferred to Bishkek’s lower-security Penal Colony No. 35, where he was not required to reside permanently but to check in at regular intervals. According to local press reports, Akhmat Bakiyev’s sentence, which was reduced by about 1.5 years, was due to end in September 2014. The penal service says Bakiyev disappeared a few days ago, though one lawmaker is publicly saying he’s been gone for a month.
Deputy Shirin Aitmatova went to the penal colony to try to find the former first brother. She reports he was actually discharged from the hospital a month ago and argues that Akhmat Bakiyev received some help escaping. He’s long gone by now, she suspects. Some posts from her Twitter feed, translated from Russian:
As explained by the prison warden, the judge issued a ruling on A. Bakiyev’s free movement and the prosecutor didn’t appeal. And here’s the result))
Akhmat Bakiyev was released from the hospital a MONTH ago!
Akhmat Bakiyev was seen in the hospital a month ago. He didn’t run off yesterday. The national prison service, judges and prosecutor general’s office arranged this disappearance long ago!
On January 29 Akhmat Bakiyev was brought to hospital No. 6. He stayed there literally two days. Since then no one in the country has seen him.
How was Akhmat Bakiyev taken out of the country? Who provided him with [travel] documents and how? Most likely, via the Kazakh border.
The president COULDN’T HAVE NOT KNOWN that Akhmat Bakiyev’s been out of the country for a month already. There’s revolution for you!))
Well, if nothing else, the mini-scandal could provide one more rallying cry for the opposition’s traditional spring protest season.
David Trilling is Eurasianet’s managing editor.
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