A protest by supporters of the detained opposition deputy Omurbek Tekebayev, leader of Kyrgyzstan’s Ata-Meken party. Bishkek, 27 February. (c) Tabyldy Kadyrbekov / RIA Novosti. Some rights reserved.
The phrase “failed state” has been applied to Kyrgyzstan so often that repeating it seems almost indecent. This November, the country will host presidential elections — and, of course, the “power vertical” is alive and well in Kyrgyzstan today. But recent events force us to think again: is this state functioning in the right way?
It was only during a recent visit to Austria that Omurbek Tekebayev, opposition politician and leader of the Ata Meken party in parliament, discovered that he faced charges of corruption and fraud. Returning home on 26 February, Tekebayev was taken into custody literally as he walked off the plane. Two days later, Tekebayev was placed under arrest for two months, until 25 April.
