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Akayev, Askar

Gender: .
State of concern: .

Who, Why and How exiled:

President of the Kyrgyz SSR from 1990. President of newly independent Kyrgyzstan from 1991 (by democratic election). Retained position as president until the Tulip Revolution in 2005, in which he was removed from power (BBC News, 2005).

Fled on 24 March 2005, reportedly to Kazakhstan and then on to Russia ( Parrish, 2005).

Category of exile: . (Definitions here.)
Alleged affiliation: Former insider.

He was the first President of Kyrgyzstan.


Which stages experienced: Stage 1   not Stage 2   not Stage 3. (Definitions here.)
Date of most serious incident: 2005.
Violence experienced: .

Stage 1 details (accusations/ charges/ Interpol notice/ extradition requests):

Protesters accused his government of corruption and of rigging elections, especially the 2005 elections in which two of his children (son Aidar and daughter Bermet) gained seats in the legislature. Critics also accused him of suppressing opposition and the media (BBC News, 2005).

Stage 2 details (arrest/ detention/ extradition):

No arrests made to date.

International arrest warrant: .

Countries of transit, asylum and/or residence: , .

Legal status (refugee/ asylum seeker/ resident):

Long-term resident of Russia.

Current status:

Residing in Barvikha, near Moscow, where he works as a Professor at Moscow State University (Cramer, 2012).


Press sources:

Andrew E. Cramer, "In Russia, Exile in Comfort for Leaders Like Assad," New York Times, December 28, 2012, [Online]. Available at: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/29/world/europe/in-barvikha-russia-leaders-like-assad-find-haven.html?_r=0;

BBC News, "Profile: Askar Akayev," April 5, 2005, [Online]. Available at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4371819.stm;