Former member of the interim government of Kyrgyzstan Azimbek Beknazarov, arrested on suspicion of money laundering, wrote a letter to President Sadyr Japarov from the pretrial detention center. His son Ruslan Beknazarov posted the video on Facebook.
According to the politician, the State Committee for National Security is bringing unfounded charges against him in the case on bank safe deposit boxes. He recalled that the case had already been investigated earlier on the initiative of Sadyr Japarov and Kamchybek Tashiev.
«You and Kamchybek Tashiev, having become deputies from Ata Zhurt party, initiated the creation of a parliamentary commission in the fall of 2010 to study the issue; an investigation was conducted by the Prosecutor General’s Office. You know perfectly well that I am not guilty. At that time, by a collegial decision of the members of the interim government, these funds were confiscated within the framework of criminal cases and were used to stabilize the situation in the country, especially in the south, caused by the separatist policy of Kadyrzhan Batyrov, as well as the Bakiyevs’ attempts at revenge,» Azimbek Beknazarov wrote.
According to him, the telephone conversation with Temir Sariev about the use of funds from the bank safety deposit box was assembled abroad and then made public for the purpose of discrediting.
He believes that even if he is guilty, he cannot be detained or a criminal case can not be initiated against him, since the statute of limitations has expired in accordance with the law.
I am writing this letter in the hope that you (Sadyr Japarov) will understand me, because at one time you and your family were subjected to various persecutions and harassment, which means you can understand the difficult situation my loved ones are in.
Azimbek Beknazarov
He suggested the head of state «not to force or exercise the investigators, but simply expel Beknazarov from the country.»
According to the State Committee for National Security, a criminal case has been opened against the former member of the interim government for the theft and embezzlement of funds seized from bank safe deposit boxes and the Government House during the April 2010 events.
On September 12, 2024, Azimbek Beknazarov was placed in the temporary detention facility of the State Committee for National Security on suspicion of committing a crime under the article «Money laundering on a large scale» of the Criminal Code of the Kyrgyz Republic.
- He held the position of Prosecutor General in the interim government.
- Earlier, along with more than 20 activists, he was a defendant in the so-called Kempir-Abad case. He was also under arrest in a pretrial detention center.
- The prosecutors asked the court to sentence all defendants under the article «Mass riots» to 10 years, under the article «Seizure of power» — 15 years, and by adding up the crimes — 20 years with confiscation of property.
- The district court acquitted all defendants in this case on June 14 due to the lack of corpus delicti.
- The Committee for protection of Kempir-Abad reservoir was created on October 22, 2022. It includes activists, politicians and MPs. Mass arrests began on October 23. Authorities placed 27 people in jail on charges of preparing for riots.
