Deposed Kyrgyzstan President Charged With Murder

Kyrgyzstan’s self-declared government charged deposed Kyrgyz president, Kurmanbek Bakiyev, with mass murder.
Deposed Kyrgyzstan President Charged With Murder
Outsed Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev gives a press conference in Minsk on April 21, 2010. (Viktor Drachev/AFP/Getty Images)
4/27/2010
Updated:
10/1/2015
<a><img src="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/09/kyrg98585093.jpg" alt="Outsed Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev gives a press conference in Minsk on April 21, 2010. (Viktor Drachev/AFP/Getty Images)" title="Outsed Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev gives a press conference in Minsk on April 21, 2010. (Viktor Drachev/AFP/Getty Images)" width="320" class="size-medium wp-image-1820564"/></a>
Outsed Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev gives a press conference in Minsk on April 21, 2010. (Viktor Drachev/AFP/Getty Images)
Kyrgyzstan’s self-declared government charged deposed Kyrgyz president, Kurmanbek Bakiyev, with mass murder on Tuesday.

The new authorities are holding Bakiyev, his relatives, and allies accountable for the death of dozens of opposition protesters earlier this month, when police opened fire into the crowd of protesters killing 85 people.

Kyrgyzstan’s prosecutor’s office says an arrest warrant has been issued and a request would be made to officials in Belarus to extradite the deposed president, Kyrgyz media reported.

Bakiyev and his family members have been in Belarus since April 19. A few days after arriving in Belarus, Bakiyev said at a press conference in Minsk that he rescinded his previously signed resignation and was still the legitimate leader of his country.

Bakiyev had fled to Kazakhstan before he surfaced in Minsk. His safe departure from the country was the result of joint efforts of the presidents of Kazakhstan, the United States, and Russia.

Many feared that if Bakiyev had not fled, the clashes between government and opposition forces could have erupted again and the impoverished clan-ruled Central Asian country might have sunk into a civil war.