By Asadbek Komilov

Copyright qalampir

The family members of former President Almazbek Atambayev have been evicted from their residence. Close relatives of Kyrgyzstan’s ex-leader were forced out of the house belonging to the Atambayev family in Koy-Tash. Kyrgyzstan, a neighboring country bordering Uzbekistan, has witnessed a series of protests and conflicts in recent years, including the Osh and Koy-Tash events, which serve as evidence of this unrest. Today, we report on the government’s actions directed against the Atambayev family, who played a central role in those events.

On September 13, Atambayev’s son, Kodir Atambayev, announced that along with himself, his mother, sister, and other close relatives had been thrown out of their home. This has also been widely reported by Kyrgyzstan’s local media.

According to him, nearly 30 people, including police officers, arrived at the residence following a decision of the Bishkek District Court. Kodirbek described the officials’ actions as illegal and stated that his family plans to appeal to the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Chamber.

He further claimed that the state intends to confiscate the headquarters of the Social Democratic Party and the Media Forum.

’’They illegally evicted me, my mother, and my family from our home in Koy-Tash — from the land of our ancestors, where our relatives, literally just 100 meters away, are buried. They want to leave us homeless. Court bailiffs arrived. This is a complete violation of the law. Yet, under orders from above, the bailiffs have begun their unlawful actions. Kill me here if you wish. You do not allow me to take my father abroad for treatment, and now you are seizing my home inside the country,” wrote Kodir Atambayev on his Facebook page.

The events trace back to 2019, when incidents took place in Koy-Tash, and Atambayev’s property was sealed. At that time, enforcement authorities attempted to transfer the former president’s residence to state ownership. President Sadyr Japarov declared, ’’We will open an institution for the elderly there.’’

Kodir Atambayev has since filed a formal complaint with law enforcement agencies over his family’s eviction from their Koy-Tash residence.

In his appeal to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the State Committee for National Security, and the Prosecutor General’s Office, he accused officials of ’’illegal eviction, abuse of power, and unlawful entry into a private home.” He demanded that criminal proceedings be initiated against those who stormed the residence.

According to the younger Atambayev, on September 13, about 100 uniformed individuals arrived at the Koy-Tash residence. He claims they did not present any court order.

’’There was not even a court hearing regarding the eviction. The Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs was present at the scene and did not allow us to wait for our relatives’ car or even to take our pet cat. We were forced to leave the property on foot at night. They threatened us and insulted us with humiliating words like ‘you can go live in a container,’” said Kodir Atambayev.

According to him, not only were security forces involved in the eviction, but also the head of the Presidential Administration of Kyrgyzstan, Kanibek Tumanbayev. To enter the residence, Atambayev claims, they even climbed over the neighbor’s fence, with the security service providing assistance.

’’All this happened on a weekend, without any documents, without an official report, without anything. Our belongings were thrown into the street, and some of our household items were broken. Any decision or action by a court bailiff regarding eviction can be appealed in court. But we were deprived of even this right,” he wrote.

Kodir Atambayev further stated that while for some people, wealth is measured in gold, money, airplanes, or expensive jackets, for the Atambayev family, the greatest value lies in standing with the people.

’’Yes, we are being driven out of our home, and our only house is being destroyed. But is this problem unique to us? Across the country, legal houses with proper documents are being demolished. In today’s lawlessness, it is an honor for us to remain with the people and share in their suffering,” he said.

He stressed that his father’s property had been seized not only under the presidencies of Askar Akayev and Kurmanbek Bakiyev but also during Sooronbay Jeenbekov’s rule — and that the process continues today. Kodir Atambayev explained this by recalling that in the 1990s, during the Gorbachev era and the final years of the USSR, his father became a major entrepreneur.

’’He never held government office like many others, never stole from the state treasury to enrich himself, and always taught us to remain honest and dignified. He constantly told us that honor is more important than anything else in the world. Our father gave us good education and proper upbringing — and for this we are grateful. Yes, my father didn’t leave me an apartment, a car, or money, but to me, my dad is the greatest man in the world! We don’t have wealth, but I am Atambayev’s son, and I can walk the streets with my head held high, knowing the Kyrgyz people treat us as family. That is the most important thing for any ordinary person,” he said.

Kodir Atambayev added that even if fate gave him the chance to choose the status and privileges of other presidents’ children — Aidar Akayev, Maxim Bakiyev, Rustam Japarov, or Taimuras Tashiev — he would still prefer his own situation.

Meanwhile, Atambayev’s daughter Aliya Shagieva said that the day the family was evicted from their home should not be seen as a defeat, but rather as a day of disgrace for current President Sadyr Japarov, State Committee for National Security head Kamchybek Tashiev, and their “criminal groups.”

’’Without waiting for the court’s decision, they wanted to show their power, their vindictiveness, and their impunity. Many people saw it with their own eyes. Now more citizens know that for them, the law means nothing and they speak only the language of the criminal world. They did everything in the dirtiest and most humiliating way possible: arriving without warning with an entire army, throwing us out into the rain with our belongings amid the mountains,” she said.

In early June this year, the Pervomaisky District Court of Bishkek delivered its verdict in the case of corruption and unrest that occurred in Koi-Tash in 2019. Former president Almazbek Atambayev, currently abroad, was sentenced in absentia to 11 years and 6 months in prison. The court also ruled to strip him of state awards and confiscate his property. The verdict has been appealed and is now under review by the Bishkek City Court.

In May 2022, the State Property Management Fund announced that Atambayev’s residence in Koi-Tash had been confiscated and transferred to state ownership. Officials from the fund demanded that the former president’s family vacate the premises. In response, Atambayev’s relatives stated their intention to establish an educational and recreational sports complex for children in need of rehabilitation on the property grounds.

Atambayev, who led Kyrgyzstan from 2011 to 2017, was arrested on August 8, 2019, during a nearly day-long special operation at his residence in Koi-Tash, Chuy region. The former head of state, who repeatedly rejected all charges brought against him, resisted detention together with his supporters. The standoff resulted in the death of a special forces officer, while more than 100 people, including police officers, required medical assistance.

Several days after his arrest, Atambayev faced a long list of charges: using violence against law enforcement officers, organizing mass unrest, murder and attempted murder, orchestrating hostage-taking, corruption in the reconstruction of the Bishkek thermal power plant, illegal transactions concerning the “Forum” industrial group building in Bishkek, and the unlawful seizure of land plots in Koi-Tash and Issyk-Kul region.

In the summer of 2020, former president Almazbek Atambayev was sentenced to 11 years and 2 months in prison. Later, some of the charges against him were dropped, and in June 2022, he was acquitted of organizing mass unrest in Bishkek in October 2020.

By court decision, after serving three and a half years in a penal colony, Atambayev was released on February 14, 2023, and subsequently left the country. On June 3 of this year, however, the Pervomaisky District Court of Bishkek issued a verdict in the Koi-Tash case. Atambayev was sentenced to 11 years and 3 months in prison, stripped of state awards, and his property was confiscated. Other defendants in the case also received various prison terms. Shortly thereafter, Kyrgyz president Sadyr Japarov commented on the ruling and announced his readiness to grant a pardon to the former head of state.

On February 18, 2023, President Japarov held a meeting in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, with all of Kyrgyzstan’s former presidents. The gathering brought together the country’s first president, Askar Akayev; Kurmanbek Bakiyev, who fled Bishkek in 2010; Roza Otunbayeva, head of the interim government in 2010 and accused of bloodshed during that period; Almazbek Atambayev, who served from 2011 to 2017 and was later imprisoned; and Sooronbay Jeenbekov, who was ousted amid protests following the 2020 parliamentary elections.

During the meeting, incumbent President Sadyr Japarov pointed to the shortcomings of his predecessors, noting that the Aksy events took place under Akayev, the April events under Bakiyev, the June tragedy under the interim government, and the October unrest under Jeenbekov. He stressed that all these incidents were “written in black letters” in Kyrgyzstan’s history.

Although Japarov later wrote that the former leaders were able to “forget their grievances and forgive one another,” Almazbek Atambayev revealed on Facebook that he had left the meeting in silence. He reportedly did not expect to see his predecessors. According to journalists’ assumptions, Atambayev walked out upon seeing Kurmanbek Bakiyev. Soon after, the former president traveled to Spain for medical treatment, where he remains to this day. For now, this is all that has been reported regarding the former head of state and his family. The rest, we will continue to observe together.