BISHKEK — A court in Bishkek has sentenced Kyrgyz activist and Social Democratic Party member Alga Kylychev to 10 years in prison on a charge of hostage-taking, which he vehemently denies, calling it politically motivated.
Bailiffs immediately arrested Kylychev after a judge at the Alamudun district court in the northern Chui region pronounced the ruling on June 21.
The charge against Kylychev stems from 2019 events in a Bishkek suburb, where former President Almazbek Atambaev and his supporters clashed with law enforcement officers at Atambaev’s Koi-Tash compound.
The violence broke out after the former president refused to obey three summons to appear at the Interior Ministry for questioning about the 2013 release of notorious crime boss Aziz Batukaev.
Kylychev told RFE/RL after he was arrested that none of the prosecutors’ witnesses confirmed that he was in the Koi-Tash compound during the deadly clashes.
“I consider it as a political ruling,” Kylychev said, adding that if his life is in danger while he is in custody, the authorities should be held responsible for that.
According to Kylychev, his incarceration is retaliation by authorities for his refusal to take part in the “illegal exoneration” of another former president, Kurmanbek Bakiev, who fled the country in 2010 following deadly anti-government protests and was sentenced to life in absentia in 2014.
The standoff between security forces and Atambaev’s supporters in 2019 resulted in the death of a senior security officer and more than 170 injuries — 79 of them sustained by law enforcement officers.
Authorities launched a probe into the deadly standoff and charged Atambaev and 13 of his supporters with murder, attempted murder, threatening or assaulting representatives of the authorities, hostage-taking, and the forcible seizure of power.
In 2020, Atambaev was sentenced to 11 years in prison for his role in the illegal release of Batukaev.
In February last year, Atambaev was released due to his deteriorated health and allowed to travel to Spain to receive treatment. He has not returned.
