MINSK, May 22 (RIA Novosti) – Belarus has no plans to extradite former Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev, who has been convicted in absentia in his native country for abuse of power, a spokesman for Belarus' law enforcement agencies said on Wednesday.
“Kurmanbek Bakiyev is a citizen of the Republic of Belarus,” the spokesman said, adding that under Belarusian law its citizens cannot be extradited to other countries.
Belarusian media reports, citing diplomatic sources, claimed Minsk has agreed to discuss the possible extradition of the ousted Kyrgyz leader and his younger brother Janysh Bakiyev, who headed the Kyrgyz security services.
Kurmanbek and Janysh Bakiyev fled to Belarus after a bloody uprising in Kyrgyzstan in April 2010. Both were accused of ordering the security forces to open fire on crowds of protesters. About 90 people were killed and around 1,000 injured as a result.
The two brothers were later granted political asylum by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. Kurmanbek Bakiyev was granted Belarusian citizenship in 2010.
In February 2013, a Kyrgyzstan military court sentenced the former president in absentia to 24 years in a high-security prison for abuse of office. His brother was sentenced in absentia to life on six charges including mass murder.
The court also ordered the Bakiyevs’ property to be confiscated.
