BISHKEK -- Former Prime Minister Sapar Isakov has been transferred from a pretrial detention center in Bishkek, where he has been held since 2018 on corruption charges, to a hospital with stroke symptoms.
The 42-year-old Isakov, considered a close associate of former President Almazbek Atambaev, was moved to a hospital in the Central Asian state's capital on August 16, according to officials at the State Committee for National Security.
The committee gave no further details.
Isakov's arrest in 2018 was seen as one of the first signs of a rift between President Sooronbai Jeenbekov and his predecessor, Atambaev, who backed Jeenbekov in an October 2017 presidential election.
The charges against Isakov include alleged illegal lobbying for the interests of a Chinese company in the selection process of a contractor for the modernization of the Bishkek Thermal Power Station and abuse of office during reconstruction of the National History Museum.
Atambaev was arrested on August 8 after he surrendered to police following a violent two days of resistance.
