Wednesday, February 15, 2012


Kyrgyzstan

Former Kyrgyz President's Son's Appeal Rejected

Aidar Akaev (file photo) (RFE/RL)

October 16, 2006 -- A Bishkek city court today rejected an appeal filed by the son of former President Askar Akaev against a Central Election Commission ruling to strip him of his parliamentary mandate.

TEXT SIZE - +
Aidar Akaev's lawyer, Galina Skripkina, made the announcement to the press at the end of the court hearing. She said her client would appeal to a higher panel.  

The commission on October 5 voted to deprive Aidar Akaev and another lawmaker, Muratbek Malabaev, of their deputy mandates, saying neither man resided in the country.

A parliamentary commission subsequently backed the election commission ruling.

Both Aidar Akaev and Malabaev won parliamentary seats in the disputed 2005 legislative polls that led to President Akaev's ousting and flight to Moscow with his relatives.  

Alleged to have ties to the Akaev family, Malabaev reportedly sought refuge in Russia, too.

Crackdown On Extremism

In other news, Justice Minister Marat Kaipov today presented parliament with proposed draft amendments to the existing media law that seek greater penalties for publishing extremist materials.

Under Kyrgyzstan's current legislation, journalists convicted of spreading ideas deemed extremist face up to three years in prison.

Kaipov said the proposed amendments would increase prison terms to between five and 10 years.

In a statement carried by the Kabar news agency, the Kyrgyz branch of the Internews international nongovernmental group warned against the proposed changes, saying they would harm media freedom and encourage self-censorship among journalists.   

Kyrgyzstan's AKIpress news agency said lawmakers will examine the government-sponsored amendments on October 19.

Kyrgyz government officials contend the country is facing a resurgence of Islamic militancy in the south. 

(AKIpress, Kabar, 24.kg)
 
RFE/RL Central Asia Report
 

SUBSCRIBE For regular news and analysis on all five Central Asian countries by e-mail, subscribe to "RFE/RL Central Asia Report."

You Might Also Like

Video Love It (Or Hate It), It's Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day, the Western holiday celebrating love, has become a global phenomenon over the past two decades. The fall of communism and the emergence of the Internet have helped February 14 become something of an unofficial international day of romance. However, not all the passions the holiday stirs are related to love. While some countries have openly embraced the holiday, others are attempting to ban it or replace it with local customs. More

Video Yo! Turkmen Rappers Flip The Script On Repression

For a growing number of Turkmen youth, rap music has become a way to express their daily struggles and inspire political change in one of the world's most oppressive countries. More

Turkmenistan's Personality Cult 2.0

Turkmen Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov appears to be building a personality cult to match that of his eccentric predecessor. More

Most Popular

               
 
 
 
 
Being Discussed Now

Iranian Bomber Wounded In Bangkok

Latest Comment (1 total)

arash: As I've said before this terrorist regime must be thrown out of the ... More

Kosovo Serbs To Vote In Referendum

Latest Comment (4 total)

Eugenio: Ah, Alija, your open-hearted admission of desire to cleanse the ethnic Serbs from ... More

U.S. Hearing On Balochistan Raises Hackles, Awareness In Pakistan

Latest Comment (11 total)

Mah: Really? You wanna divide Balochistan? That's the outrageous idea I've heard so far. ... More