Former Kyrgyz President Surrenders After Prolonged Clash With Special Forces

Former Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev surrendered to special forces operatives on August 8, local news website 24.kg reported. Atambayev’s compound in the village of Koi-Tash was stormed by troops August 7, resulting in clashes and at least one death, reports said. This footage, provided to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) by Kunduz Zholdubaeva, an associate of Atambaev, shows the former president negotiating with authorities, asking that they “do not touch [his] guys” – referring to his supporters – and then being detained. The video also shows the various weaponry found within Atambaev’s compound. Both RFE/RL and 24.kg reported that dozens of people were wounded and at least one special forces soldier had died in the raid on Atambaev’s compound, wherein heated fighting erupted between supporters of the former president and soldiers. In a speech to the Kyrgyzstan Security Council in Bishkek on August 8, current President Sooronbay Jeenbekov confirmed the death of one law enforcement officer from a “gunshot wound” and said that a “criminal case” had been launched against Atambaev. Atambaev’s six-year term as president lasted from December 2011 to November 2017. He was stripped of presidential immunity in June 2019 as he stood accused of corruption. According to RFE/RL, Atambaev – who has spent the majority of the time since in his compound – refused to obey two previous subpoenas, making him eligible for forcible detention under Kyrgyzstan law. Credit: Kunduz Zholdubaeva and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty via Storyful

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