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Kyrgyzstan demands that Belarus extradite Zhanybek Bakiyev

Askar Beshimov, Kyrgyzstan’s deputy foreign minister, on August 21 issued a verbal note Viktar Dzenisenka, the Belarusian ambassador in Bishkek, demanding that Belarus take “exhaustive measures” to arrest Zhanybek (Zhanysh) Bakiyev, a brother of former Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev who is on an international wanted list.

The note came after Zhanybek Bakiyev was spotted and photographed on a downtown street in Minsk by Belarusian opposition activist Mikhail Pashkevich,

The photographs, which were published in the media, confirm that Zhanybek Bakiyev is staying in Belarus, the Kyrgyz foreign ministry says in a statement.

Zhanybek Bakiyev, who was the head of the presidential guards, is believed to have given the order to shoot at a crowd of protesters in Bishkek in April 2010, which left more than 80 people dead. Kyrgyzstan’ interim government then offered rewards of up to $100,000 for the capture of Zhanybek Bakiyev and several other senior figures accused of “grave crimes.”

When reached by Interfax-Zapad on Monday, a spokesperson for the Belarusian interior ministry said that the ministry would not comment on reports of Zhanybek Bakiyev’s stay in Belarus.

Alyaksey Byahun, head of the ministry’s citizenship and migration department, told reporters in June that the country’s regulations governing the status of refugees, citizenship matters and the protection of information “unfortunately do not provide for the possibility of disclosing to the public the status of a person staying on the territory of the state without the person’s personal consent.”

“So I have no right to comment on the status of [Kurmanbek] Bakiyev in the territory of Belarus,” said Mr. Byahun.

Kurmanbek Bakiyev fled Kyrgyzstan after being overthrown as a result of violent anti-government protests in his country and resurfaced in Minsk in late April 2010. He was offered refuge by Alyaksandr Lukashenka, who said later that he had received Mr. Bakiyev as a head of state, not as an outlaw.

In an interview with Reuters in May 2010, Mr. Lukashenka made it clear that he would reject an extradition request for Mr. Bakiyev. "Such a request would be hopeless and humiliating for the interim government [in Kyrgyzstan]," he said. "The president of Kyrgyzstan is under the protection of the Belarusian state and its president.”

According to unconfirmed reports, Kurmanbek Bakiyev was granted Belarusian citizenship in 2010. Earlier this year, he reportedly bought a house on the outskirts of Minsk for $2 million.

The former Kyrgyz president has five brothers: Zhanybek, Kanybek, Marat, Akmat and Adyl. One more brother, Zhusup, died in 2006. //BelaPAN