Kyrgyzstan Says Georgia Refuses Extradition Request

BISHKEK -- Kyrgyzstan's Prosecutor-General says Georgia has refused Bishkek's extradition request for a former chief of the country's presidential secretariat.

Oksana Malyovannaya is wanted in Bishkek for allegedly passing along orders for the shooting of unarmed protesters in 2010.

Georgian officials said Malyovannaya asked for political asylum in Tbilisi and is allowed to stay until her legal status is officially clarified.

Malyovannaya and members of her family arrived in Tbilisi in March from Kyiv's international airport after Ukrainian authorities refused to allow her to enter the country.

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

Malyovannaya was later transferred to house arrest.

She fled from Kyrgyzstan to Kazakhstan in November 2010.