Then Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev (R) casts his ballot during a presidential election at a polling station in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, October 15, 2017. /AP
A court in Kyrgyzstan sentenced former President Almazbek Atambayev to 11 years and two months in prison on Tuesday on corruption charges, which he denies.
The court in the capital Bishkek found Atambayev guilty of ordering a convicted criminal's release from prison, which his supporters have dismissed as driven by a political conflict between Atambayev and his successor, President Sooronbai Jeenbekov.
The presiding judge also ruled the ex-leader be stripped of all state honors as well as his homes and business properties.
Atambayev, 63, ran the Central Asian, ex-Soviet republic of 6.5 million people between 2011 and 2017, having previously taken part in revolts that toppled two other Kyrgyz presidents.
He backed then-ally Jeenbekov in the 2017 election but the two fell out shortly after the new president took office.
Kyrgyz riot police block supporters of former President Almazbek Atambayev near his residence in the village of Koi-Tash, about 20 kilometers south of Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, August 8, 2019. /AP
The charges against Atambayev stem from the 2013 release from a Kyrgyz prison on state compassionate grounds of Aziz Batukayev, a man described by Kyrgyz officials as a mob kingpin who had been convicted of illegal possession of drugs and firearms and of organizing riots.
At the time, the authorities cited Batukayev's terminal illness as the reason for the release – which investigators now say was untrue. There have been no reports that Batukayev has died and he is believed to be living in Russia.
The Kyrgyz parliament voted on June 27 last year to deprive Atambayev of his immunity, paving the way for his detention and trial. Police detained him in August after storming his country house and exchanging fire with his supporters.
(With input from Reuters, AFP)