Former Bishkek mayor acquitted in corruption case, former parliament speaker released for treatment abroad

BISHKEK (TCA) - A former mayor of Kyrgyzstan's capital Bishkek, Isa Omurkulov (in the photo), has been acquitted in a high-profile corruption case.

A district court in Bishkek ruled last Friday that all charges against Omurkulov and his four former associates must be dropped as there was no basis to charge them with crimes, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reported.

Omurkulov resigned as mayor of the Kyrgyz capital in December after the prosecutor-general's office launched a probe against him and his four associates.

They were accused of redrawing the borders of a park in the center of Bishkek to accommodate the existence of illegal construction there from 2002 to 2010 and to allow new buildings on park grounds.

A court then barred Omurkulov from leaving the country pending his trial that started in April.

Also last Friday, a court in Bishkek allowed former Kyrgyz parliament speaker Akhmatbek Keldibekov, who is on trial for corruption, to receive urgent medical treatment abroad. 

The court ruled that Keldibekov can be transferred from pretrial detention to house arrest and travel to Germany for treatment of his knee joint on condition that he will return for trial later.

Keldibekov's trial has been postponed three times this year after he failed to appear in court allegedly due to his health condition.

A member of the opposition Ata-Jurt (Fatherland) party, Keldibekov is charged with abuse of office and financial crimes committed while he ran the State Social Fund and Tax Service.

He served as parliament speaker between 2010 and 2011.

Keldibekov's supporters have staged several public protests since his arrest in November, demanding his immediate release.

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