Indicted Former Kyrgyz Official Arrives In Tbilisi

BISHKEK -- Georgian officials say that the former chief of Kyrgyzstan’s Presidential Secretariat, who is wanted in Bishkek on charges of abuse of power in connection with the shooting of unarmed protesters, will be allowed to stay in Tbilisi until her legal status is officially clarified.

Oksana Malyovannaya and members of her family arrived in Tbilisi from Kyiv's Boryspil International Airport after Ukrainian authorities refused her permission to enter the country on March 29.

Kyrgyzstan's interim government arrested Malyovannaya in April 2010 after her boss, President Kurmanbek Bakiev, was ousted amid violent protests in Bishkek.

Malyovannaya was later placed under house arrest.

She fled from Kyrgyzstan to Kazakhstan in November 2010.

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees criticized Kyiv for its refusal to accept Malyovannaya as a refugee.

With Interfax reporting
Correction: An earlier version of this article mistakenly stated that Malyovannaya was wanted on charges of corruption.