BISHKEK (Reuters) – Kyrgyzstan’s former president, Almazbek Atambayev, has been released from prison for medical treatment abroad, an ally said on Tuesday, as his case was sent for a review.
Atambayev, who served as president between 2011 and 2017 and is so far the only Kyrgyz leader who has not been toppled by violent protests, was sentenced to 11 years in prison in 2020 in a case he described as politically motivated.
In a surprise move on Tuesday, the Central Asian nation’s Supreme Court cancelled his sentence and sent his case for a review, citing newly discovered information.
On the same day, Atambayev was granted permission to leave the country for medical treatment, his ally Kunduz Zholdubayeva told Reuters. She did not say where he planned to go or what kind of treatment he needed.
Atambayev, 66, was arrested in 2019 after a dramatic police siege of his country house soon after he fell out with his successor, Sooronbai Jeenbekov, who was himself toppled the following year amid riots.
The former Soviet republic hosts a Russian military airbase and maintains close political and economic ties with Moscow.
(Reporting by Olzhas Auyezov; Editing by Alex Richardson)
