Rival Protests Outside Trial Of Former Kyrgyz President

Supporters of Kyrgyzstan's former president, Almazbek Atambaev, held a rally outside a courthouse in the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek, demanding that he be released from custody. Opponents of the 63-year-old former leader also gathered outside the court on June 1 to insist that Atambaev must go to prison. The former president and 13 codefendants face a range of charges, the most serious of which is the murder of a commander of an elite security unit that stormed Atambaev’s compound in August 2019.