Kyrgyz interim gov't mulls request for Bakiyev's extradition

Kyrgyzstan's interim government said on Monday it was considering making a request for the extradition of ousted President Kurmanbek Bakiyev from Belarus to face trial back home.

Bakiyev fled Kyrgyzstan following the bloody unrest on April 7, first to Kazakhstan and then to Belarus. Interim government officials said a request for his extradition was possible if it was found that he should be held accountable for crimes such as sanctioning the use of gunfire on protesters and economic crimes.

Interim government officials said a decree removing Bakiyev's presidential immunity had been passed.

Former Kyrgyz Interior Minister Moldomusa Kongantiyev was detained in Moscow Sunday night and is now in custody in Bishkek.

Kongantiyev is blamed by the interim government for the violent clashes between protesters and security forces earlier this month.

Source: Xinhua