Almazbek Atambayev Found Guilty in Batukayev Release Case, Statue of Limitations Factors in - Kloop

Former Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev has been found guilty of unlawfully releasing organized crime figure Aziz Batukayev, Orda.kz reports, citing Kloop.

The verdict was delivered on April 17 by the Pervomaisky District Court in Bishkek. According to Atambayev’s lawyer, Sergey Slesarev, the court established his guilt but did not assign a sentence due to the expiration of the statute of limitations.

Almazbek Atambayev was found guilty, but without the imposition of punishment because the case has exceeded the limitation period,the attorney said. 

Batukayev was released from prison in 2013 based on a medical certificate stating he had leukemia. It was later revealed that the certificate had been forged.

The release of Batukayev was one of the key factors behind the decision to revoke Atambayev’s status as former president. The Interior Ministry summoned him for questioning three times, but he ignored all of them.

This led to the raid on his residence in the village of Koi-Tash in August 2019, during which he was arrested.

In June 2020, Atambayev was convicted of corruption in connection with the Batukayev case and sentenced to 11 years and 2 months in prison, with confiscation of property.

However, in February 2023, he was released from prison due to health reasons. He sought medical treatment abroad and now resides in Spain.

The Supreme Court sent the case back for retrial.

Atambayev remains a defendant in several other criminal cases that are still pending before Kyrgyz courts.