The Capture of Atambayev And What It Means For Kyrgyz Politics
By Johan Engvall
September 10, 2019, the CACI Analyst
On August 7-8, the confrontation for the past year and a half between former Kyrgyz president Almazbek Atambayev and his former protégé current president Sooronbai Jeenbekov reached a violent crescendo. After having his immunity from prosecution stripped in a parliamentary vote in June, Atambayev barricaded himself in his residential compound. When law enforcement troops tried to detain him by force, the former president and his supporters put up a violent resistance. After a two-day standoff, leaving one officer dead and more than 170 others, including 79 law enforcement officers, injured, Atambayev eventually surrendered to the police. He is now facing criminal charges on multiple counts. What does this dramatic event tell us about the current and future state of Kyrgyz politics?
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