Recently, a session was held at the Pervomaisky District Court of Bishkek, where the request of the investigative authorities to change the measure of restraint for a group of suspects accused of organizing mass riots was considered.
The court session began with the approval of the prosecution's request, resulting in the arrest of Temirlan Sultanbekov, Ermek Ermatov, and Urmat Askarbekov (previously known as Urmat Baryktabasov). They have been ordered to be held in custody until January 17, according to sources.
Additionally, other individuals involved in the case were also placed in custody until January 17: Kadyrbek Atambaev, Shailoobek Atazov, and Kubanychbek Kadyrov.
The son of the former president of the country reported that the charges against him had been reclassified to more serious ones. He is now accused of attempting to violently overthrow the government.
Kadyrbek Atambaev, who was detained in connection with the case regarding calls for mass riots, sent two letters from the detention center, dated November 22 and 23. In these letters, he shared details of his detention, mentioned pressure from law enforcement, and called the accusations absurd. According to him, the case against him was reclassified to a more serious charge—“attempted violent overthrow of the government.”
In a letter written on November 22, Atambaev claims that he and his associates did not call for riots but were merely conducting campaigning in support of parliamentary candidate Kyial Toktorbaeva in the Sverdlovsk district.
“On November 22 at 07:00, about ten special forces officers burst into the apartment I share with my mother, without introducing themselves or explaining the reasons for the detention,” he reported. According to him, the investigative activities were conducted with violations, and he was not allowed to call a lawyer.
Atambaev also recounted how officers in “black caps and sportswear” threatened him with torture if he insisted on waiting for a lawyer. “One of them in a gray Nike tracksuit grabbed my hands and snatched the phone I was trying to use to call my lawyer,” he noted in his letter.
He characterized what was happening as “terror” and linked it to a complaint he had previously filed with the Prosecutor General's Office regarding possible abuses in the procurement of transformers for a mining farm mentioned in journalistic investigations.
Commenting on the accusations of “calls for mass riots,” Atambaev emphasized that he had no plans to seize power, and the mentioned “conspiracy” was based on fragments of “kitchen debates” by Temirlan Sultanbekov, recorded with a hidden camera.
In a letter dated November 23, Atambaev reported that the charges against him had changed from “calls for mass riots” to “attempted violent overthrow of the government.”
“The basis for this accusation was that I discussed rising food prices and ‘problems in the energy sector’ on my social media page. This is complete madness,” he stated.
Atambaev noted that he did not raise issues of “problems in the energy sector” but filed an official complaint with the Prosecutor General's Office regarding the actions of the mining farm associated with Shirsov's people and Maxim Bakiyev. He believes that his detention is directly related to this complaint.
Furthermore, he emphasized that his publications about prices and the economic situation were analytical in nature and based on data from the World Bank, IMF, and EBRD.
“How can this be related to ‘attempts at violent seizure of power’?” Atambaev questions.
He called his case a “theater of the absurd,” noting that scientific articles, social media posts, and a lawsuit against Shirsov's people have become the basis for serious charges.
