Kyrgyz Official, Ex-PM's Son Arrested On Espionage Charges

A Kyrgyz government official whose father was prime minister more than a decade ago has been arrested on espionage charges.

The State Committee for National Security (UKMK) said on November 3 that the head of Kyrgyz government's department for foreign relations, Altynbek Muraliev, had been arrested on November 1.

According to the UKMK's official statement, Muraliev is suspected in collecting secret and classified materials and passing them on or intending to pass them on to a foreign country's secret services.

It is not clear what country the official is suspected to have spied for.

Muraliev is a son of Amangeldy Muraliev, who was prime minister in 1999-2000.

Altynbek Muraliev graduated from a university in Turkey in the early 1990s and later worked for several years at the Turkish Embassy in Bishkek.

Based on reporting by AKIpress and KyrTAG