Kyrgyzstan recalls ambassador from Belarus

The ambassador has been recalled after a reaction of the Belarusian authorities to a note by the Kyrgyz MFA.

Kyrgyzstan has recalled its ambassador in Belarus to Bishkek for consultations over the situation of a brother of the former Kyrgyz president, Zhanybek Bakiyev, who is  on the  international wanted list.

The ambassador to Minsk, Erik Asanaliyev, was recalled “due to absence of a reaction of Belarus to a note verbale released by the Kyrgyz MFA regarding staying a brother of the former president, Zhanybek (Zhanysh, Janysh) Bakiyev, in the country, Interfax news agency cites the message of the Kyrgyz MFA released on Friday.

On August 21, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kyrgyzstan issued a note verbale to Belarus “on taking urgent measures to detain citizen Zhanysh Bakiyev and extradite him to the Kyrgyz Republic”. The note was handed to the Belarusian ambassador in Kyrgyzstan.

Information about staying of Kyrgyz ex-president's brother in Minsk appeared in the media on August 20. The information was confirmed by photos made by a Belarusian opposition activist.

On August 22, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Kyrgyzstan spread a statement saying the people near Bakiyev in the photo are wanted in connection with a triple murder. The Ministry claims the photos show Kyrgyz nationals on the international wanted list – former head of the State Security Service Zhanysh Bakiyev, his former fellow student and former deputy head of the State Security Service Takhir Rysaliyev (born in 1957 in Naryn Province), and Rustam Saiduyev, a close friend of Maksim Bakiyev, born in Jalal-Abad Province in 1976.

We remind former president of Kyrgyzstan Kurmanbek Bakiyev and his brother Zhanybek (Zhanysh) Bakiyev were put on the wanted list in the territory of the CIS and on the Interpol wanted list. They are charged with having relation to mass killings. The former Kyrgyz president and his family have been hiding in Belarus since April 2010. In August 2010, Kurmanbek Bakiyev received a Belarusian passport. He bought a house on the outskirts of Minsk for $2 million this year.