Well-known akyn Askat Zhetigen detained in Naryn

10:24, 18 марта 2024, Bishkek - 24.kg news agency , Baktygul OSMONALIEVA

Officers of the State Committee for National Security of Kyrgyzstan (SCNS) detained an akyn (poet and singer) Askat Zhetigen. Lawyer Venera Buudaibekova told Radio Azattyk.

According to her, the akyn was brought to Bishkek and placed in a temporary detention facility for 48 hours.

It is noted that «the SCNS suspects him of calls for seizure of power because of his video messages and opened a criminal case in 2022.»

«In this regard, Askat Zhetigen was interrogated several times. Venera Buudaibekova says that the investigator cited the conclusion of the examination conducted on his statements as the basis for his arrest,» the media outlet reports.

Earlier, Askat Zhetigen published a video where he criticized the latest interview of President Sadyr Japarov. At the same time, he used foul language. The akyn told that for many years of work at the Ministry of Culture, he tried almost every day to get an appointment with the head of state to discuss issues of increasing funding for the cultural sector, but he was never received for three years.

Askat Zhetigen is a well-known akyn, composer and komuz player. At the age of 18, he headed the folklore and ethnographic ensemble Ordo Sakhna, with performances of which he visited more than 20 countries.