Crossroads Asia | Politics | Central Asia

Tashiev Indicted for Coup Plot, Case Classified

According to his lawyer, Tashiev has been indicted on charges of plotting a coup and the case has been classified. 

Two weeks after Kamchybek Tashiev, the former head of Kyrgyzstan’s State Committee for National Security, 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, though their names have not been publicized.

Also, the case has been classified.

“This means that all court hearings will be closed to the public, and no one is authorized to disclose information regarding the investigation or the judicial proceedings,” Ikramidin Aitkulov, Tashiev’s lawyer, said in a Facebook post. 

Tashiev stands accused of preparing for the violent seizure of power – that is, coup plotting – and abuse of office, as previously reported.

In late April, when Tashiev himself acknowledged the existence of a criminal case against him – via an intermediary, Otkurbek Rakhmanov, the director of the Region TV channel – he urged his supporters to stay calm.

“I have to address you regarding the criminal case initiated against me… I have the opportunity to fully defend myself legally 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, the director of the Region TV........

© The Diplomat