A court in Kyrgyzstan has sentenced former President Almazbek Atambayev in absentia to 11.5 years in prison on multiple charges, including corruption and inciting mass unrest, according to Russian state news agency TASS.
The Pervomaisky District Court in Bishkek found Atambayev guilty of illegally acquiring land in the village of Koi-Tash, embezzlement during the modernization of the Bishkek thermal power plant, and organizing mass riots there in August 2019. The court also ordered the confiscation of his property and stripped him of all state honors.
Several former high-ranking officials were convicted in the same case, including former presidential chief of staff Faril Niyazov, sentenced to seven years and eight months, and former lawmaker Irina Karamushkina, who received seven and a half years.
Atambayev was first detained in August 2019 during a nearly 24-hour security operation at his residence in Koi-Tash. Supporters resisted the raid, which resulted in the death of a special forces officer and injuries to more than 100 people, including police.
Days later, he was charged with multiple serious offenses, including organizing mass unrest, violence against law enforcement, attempted murder, hostage-taking, corruption in the thermal plant project, and unlawful property deals in Koi-Tash and the Issyk-Kul region.
In 2020, Atambayev was sentenced to 11 years and two months in prison, although some charges were later dropped. He was acquitted in 2022 of organizing mass protests in Bishkek in October 2020.
After serving three and a half years in prison, Atambayev was released in February 2023 and left the country.
