Former Kyrgyz parliament speaker, Akhmatbek Keldibekov, who is on trial for corruption, has left the country to seek urgent medical treatment abroad.
Kyrgyz news agencies quoted on August 12 Kyrgyzstan's State Border Service as saying Keldibekov -- accompanied by his wife and children -- took the Bishkek - Istanbul flight on August 10.
A Kyrgyz court ruled on August 1 that Keldibekov can be transferred from pretrial detention to house arrest and travel to Germany for treatment on condition that he will return for trial later.
The ruling was criticized by some, who said Keldibekov won't return to Kyrgyzstan.
Keldibekov's trial has been postponed three times this year after he failed to appear in court citing health reasons.
A member of the opposition Ata-Jurt (Fatherland) party, Keldibekov is charged with abuse of office and financial crimes committed while he ran the State Social Fund and Tax Service.