Accessibility links

Breaking News

Baywatch: Banished To The Beach


Kurmanbek Bakiev gets some sun.
Kurmanbek Bakiev gets some sun.
What to do when you're an ousted leader, whiling your days away in the safe confines of Belarus, trying to keep bounty hunters at bay?

If you're Kurmanbek Bakiev, who was toppled following violent clashes in Kyrgyzstan in April, you head for Turkey's Mediterranean coast to soak in the sun, maybe play 18 holes, and relax in luxury in the resort town of Belek.

At least that's where Russian media reports are saying Bakiev has gone, along with his second wife and their two young children.

No word on whether it might be a full family reunion, which would surely interest Kyrgyzstan's interim government: it has offered rewards ranging from $20,000 to $100,000 for information leading to the capture of Bakiev and several of his family members and close associates sought in connection with "serious crimes."

The wanted list includes former Prime Ministers Igor Chudinov and Daniyar Usenov along with Bakiev's son Maksim, and the former president's brothers Ahmat, Kanybek, and Janybek Bakiev.

-- Farangis Najibullah
XS
SM
MD
LG