Photo from the family archive of Irina Karamushkina
According to Borkeev, he and his family are troubled by the court's decision to tighten the sentence. He noted that the witnesses from the special unit "Alpha," who testified in court, did not express any claims against Irina and did not confirm her involvement in the attempted seizure of power.
He also emphasized that Karamushkina had no weapons. He reminded that President Sadyr Japarov had previously expressed the opinion that the district court's verdict was "too harsh," although he noted that he does not interfere in the work of the judicial authorities.
The husband of the convicted described the verdict as unjust and called on the authorities to reconsider the conclusions of the judicial panel.
It should be noted that the Bishkek City Court increased Irina Karamushkina's prison sentence to eight years in connection with the events in Koi-Tash.
The judicial proceedings regarding these events have been ongoing since 2022. Episodes related to the Bishkek CHPP, the "Dastan" plant, and land plots have been added to the case. Among the accused are 20 people, 12 of whom are connected to the events in Koi-Tash, including the names of former Minister of Internal Affairs Abdylldy Suranchiev and former Minister of Energy Askarbek Shadiev.
Former President Almazbek Atambayev was released by the court in February 2023 for medical treatment and left the country for Spain, and has not returned to Kyrgyzstan since.
On August 7, 2019, the GKNB special forces attempted to storm Atambayev's residence in Koi-Tash. The next day, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the GKNB conducted a joint operation to detain the ex-president. During the events, Atambayev's supporters began throwing stones at the security forces and setting tires on fire. Over two days of clashes, 136 people were injured, and one special forces officer was killed by gunfire.
Several criminal cases have been initiated against Atambayev, including cases related to the riots in Koi-Tash on August 7-8, 2019, corruption, and money laundering. He was also charged with the illegal issuance of passports to citizens of Turkey and organizing mass riots in October 2020, but he was acquitted.
