Kyrgyz activist taken from home following Tashiyev’s resignation

Kyrgyz public figure Bekbolot Talgarbekov has been detained by law enforcement officers, the 24.kg news outlet reported, citing his son Arstan Talgarbekov.

According to him, police officers arrived at Talgarbekov’s apartment in Bishkek’s 8th microdistrict on the morning of February 11 to conduct a search. After the search, he was taken to the Interior Ministry’s Main Criminal Investigation Department for questioning.

Arstan Talgarbekov уточнил that three officers accompanied his father, while some law enforcement personnel remained in the apartment to continue procedural actions.

The Interior Ministry’s press service has denied reports of the detention and search.

Arstan Talgarbekov also said his father fully supported the policies of President Sadyr Japarov and former head of the State Committee for National Security Kamchybek Tashiyev. According to him, the text of the appeal contained no illegal calls.

Bekbolot Talgarbekov was one of the initiators of a collective appeal calling for the urgent launch of a new presidential election. The document was signed by 75 people, including scholars, former prime ministers, former MPs and public figures. There are reports that all 75 signatories are now being questioned.

Earlier, the presidential press secretary said that when President Sadyr Japarov spoke about preventing division, he was referring not to Kamchybek Tashiyev but to Bekbolot Talgarbekov, Emilbek Uzoqboyev and others.