Ousted Kyrgyz President Charged In Protest Deaths

Former Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiev at a news conference in Minsk

A leader of the interim authorities in Kyrgyzstan says Kurmanbek Bakiev, the ousted president of the Central Asian country, has been charged with organizing mass killings.

Bakiev is in Belarus after he fled Kyrgyzstan in the wake of violence that left at least 85 people dead.

The violence erupted on April 7 when security forces fired on anti-Bakiev protesters, who then stormed government buildings.

Azimbek Beknazarov, a deputy prime minister of the opposition forces that have claimed provisional control of the country, told a news conference today that Bakiev has also been charged with abuse of power and that his presidential immunity will be stripped.

Beknazarov said an extradition request will be sent to Belarus "within days."

He said Minsk is obliged to extradite Bakiev under an agreement among former Soviet countries.

compiled from agency reports