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Former Kyrgyz Officials' Trial Postponed


Iskhak Masaliev
Iskhak Masaliev
BISHKEK -- The trial of two former Kyrgyz officials in connection with unrest in the south of the country in May has been postponed until next week, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reports.

Former parliament deputy Iskhak Masaliev and former presidential administration head Usen Sadykov went on trial on December 10.

They have pleaded not guilty to charges of organizing mass disorders in the Osh and Jalal-Abad regions in mid-May and attempting to seize power.

The presiding judge agreed on the trial's opening day to summon the governors of Osh, Jalal-Abad, and Batken oblasts to the next session, which was scheduled for today, but not all of them showed up, an RFE/RL correspondent reported from the courtroom.

The next session is now scheduled for December 22,

On May 12-13, groups allegedly associated with former President Kurmanbek Bakiev briefly occupied government buildings in Jalal-Abad and Osh. Investigators say that Masaliev and Usenov were among the organizers of the action.

The incident was followed by unrest in Jalal-Abad the following week in which at least two people died. In June, more than 400 people were killed in interethnic clashes in Jalal-Abad and Osh.

Bakiev was ousted in April as a result of large-scale antigovernment protests in Bishkek during which more than 80 people died and hundreds were wounded in clashes between protesters and security forces.

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