Tuesday April 27, 2010
By Olga Dzyubenko
BISHKEK (Reuters) - Kyrgyzstan's interim government said on Tuesday it had charged the country's ousted president Kurmanbek Bakiyev with "mass killing" and has formally prepared an extradition request.
Ousted Kyrgyz leader Kurmanbek Bakiyev gestures during a news conference in Minsk April 23, 2010. (REUTERS/Vasily Fedosenko)
Belarus took in Bakiyev last week after he fled in the aftermath of a bloody revolt. Moscow made clear he was not welcome in Russia.
"The former president of Kyrgyzstan, Kurmanbek Bakiyev, has been charged with mass killing," Azimbek Beknazarov, an interim vice premier in charge of security, said in the capital Bishkek. The extradition request would be sent "within days", he added.
Bakiyev might also be charged with abuse of power in an official capacity, Beknazarov told reporters.
