Court in Kyrgyzstan orders ex-president to stay in custody

A Kyrgyz riot policeman shoots rubber bullets to stop supporters of former president Almazbek Atambayev, near his residence in the village of Koi-Tash, about 20 kilometers (12 miles) south of the capital, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, Thursday, Aug. 8, 2019. Police in Kyrgyzstan detained the Central Asian nation's ex-president Thursday following violent clashes with his supporters, a day after a previous attempt to arrest him left one policeman dead and nearly 80 people injured. (AP Photo/Vladimir Voronin)

MOSCOW — A court in Kyrgyzstan has ordered the Central Asian nation’s ex-president to remain in custody pending trial on corruption charges.

The arrest of Almazbek Atambayev sparked two days of riots that left one policeman dead and over 100 people injured.

Atambayev, who was in office from 2011 to 2017, has been stripped of his immunity from prosecution he enjoyed as a former president and faces a slew of charges, including corruption and the expropriation of property.

He dismissed the accusations as an “absurd” attempt by his ex-protege, current President Sooronbai Jeenbekov, to silence a critical voice. Atambayev’s supporters foiled the first attempt by police to arrest him Wednesday, but police managed to overcome their resistance the following day.

Police also dispersed over 1,000 Atambayev supporters in the capital late Thursday.

The Associated Press