Two weeks after Kamchybek Tashiev, the former head of the State Committee for National Security of Kyrgyzstan, confirmed that a criminal case had been opened against him, his lawyer announced that the Prosecutor General’s Office had approved an indictment and transferred the case to the Pervomaisky District Court of Bishkek for trial. There are seven other defendants in the case, but their names have not been made public.
Additionally, the case was closed.
“This means that all court hearings will be closed to the public and no one is allowed to disclose information regarding the investigation or legal proceedings,” Ikramidin Aitkulov, Tashiev’s lawyer, said in a statement. Facebook post.
Tashiev is accused of preparing a violent takeover – that is, plotting a coup – and of abusing his office. as indicated previously.
At the end of April, when Tashiev himself acknowledged the existence of criminal proceedings against him – through Otkurbek Rakhmanov, the director of the Region TV channel – he urged his supporters to remain calm.
“I need to tell you about the criminal case against me… I have the opportunity to fully legally defend myself in this criminal case and, God willing, I am not guilty of anything, I will be acquitted,” he said in a statement shared by Otkurbek Rakhmanov, director of the regional TV channel. Rakhmanov is considered a close associate of Tashiev.
“He who is guilty will be punished, and he who is innocent will be acquitted,” Tashiev wrote. “Because our head of state has made efforts to create a fair judicial system in our country.”
At the time, Tashiev directly pointed the finger at Kempir-Abad dissidents, noting that in this case 25 people were killed. acquitted.
They were acquitted in June 2024 after a nearly two-year saga that began with a series of arrests in October 2022. The so-called Kempir-Abad Dissidents consisted of a collection of politicians and activists opposed to a border deal with Uzbekistan involving the Kempir-Abad reservoir. They were accused of plotting “mass riots” “seizure of power by force” and “public calls for a violent takeover of power”. Many defendants spent months in pretrial detention before being placed under house arrest. Eight of them were detained until the surprising acquittal.
All this to say: a judicial system far from fair. Tashiev may find out the hard way, but maybe not.
At the time of publication, it does not appear that Tashiev himself has been taken into custody, despite the nature of the charges. There is a clear difference between the way he is treated by the government of his former ally, President Sadyr Japarov, and the way he is being treated. other defendants under the same items have been treated.