Almazbek Atambayev, deputy head of the interim Kyrgyz government, thanked Russia on Monday for detaining and extraditing the country's former interior minister, Moldomusa Kongantiyev.
The Federal Security Service detained him and sent him overnight to Bishkek, officials in Kyrgyzstan's interim government said.
The extradition is the latest signal of strong Russian support for the new administration, which came to power in Bishkek after an uprising April 7. Ousted President Kurmanbek Bakiyev has said Moscow may have played a role in his overthrow.
"With the help of Russian law enforcement agencies, we were able to detain in Moscow the former head of the interior ministry," Atambayev said during a government security meeting, Interfax reported. "We're grateful to the FSB for the help," he said.
Kongantiyev — who was badly beaten during protests April 8 and forced to shout "Down with Bakiyev!" — was detained Sunday, a spokesman for Kyrgyzstan's National Security Service said. "We have him in a pretrial detention center," he said.
The interim government's chief of staff, Edil Baisalov, confirmed that Kongantiyev had been detained by Russian security forces and sent overnight by plane to Bishkek.
He said Kongantiyev was under arrest and was being investigated for his role in the deadly upheaval earlier this month, among other things.
During the night of April 7-8, troops loyal to Bakiyev shot into crowds of protesters, some of whom were armed and fought back. At last 85 people were killed.
The unrest disrupted flights through a U.S. air base that supports operations in Afghanistan and adds to the strategic significance of the impoverished Central Asian state.
Some 300 supporters and relatives of Kongantiyev closed a road from Bishkek to Osh on Monday demanding his release, Interfax reported, citing a police source in the southern region of Jalal-Abad.
Another 30 supporters held a rally for him in the capital, the report said.
Kyrgyzstan's new rulers have struggled to stamp their authority on the predominantly Muslim nation of 5.3 million as rival clans and ethnic groups vie for influence.
Russia's extradition of the former top official contrasts with neighboring Belarus, which took in Bakiyev last week and has criticized other ex-Soviet states' responses to the Kyrgyz crisis. The Kremlin made clear that Bakiyev, who fled Kyrgyzstan days after his overthrow, was not welcome in Russia.
Russia has offered Kyrgyzstan financial aid, and Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin expressed support for the interim government as he met its leader, Roza Otunbayeva, in Bishkek on Monday. "Russia is ready to help," Karasin said.
The United States, eager to keep its lease on the Manas air base and maintain influence in Central Asia, has also offered support for the interim government, which is planning to hold elections in October.
(Reuters, MT)
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