Kyrgyzstan’s interim government said yesterday it was prepared to pay up to US$100,000 for information leading to the arrest of the former Soviet state’s ousted leader and his aides.
The provisional government, which took power last month amid bloody protests, has demanded the extradition from Belarus of ousted president Kurmanbek Bakiyev, who they blame for the deaths of 85 protesters and other crimes.
“The provisional government of Kyrgyzstan has promised to pay from US$20,000 to US$100,000 for concrete assistance in locating and capturing these criminals,” an interim government commission said in a statement.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko gave Bakiyev — who fled the Central Asian state via neighboring Kazakhstan after the unrest — sanctuary in Belarus after voicing anger over the uprising that ousted him.
The list released yesterday with the names of those subject to payment for capture is a who’s who of the former Kyrgyz government and Bakiyev’s family.
One prominent name is that of Bakiyev’s son Maxim — under investigation in absentia for corruption regarding fuel sales to a US airbase in Kyrgyzstan that is seen as key to coalition operations in nearby Afghanistan.
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