ianstone
06-19-2010, 01:02 PM
Son of toppled Kyrgyz leader given leave to stay in Britain
Fiona Hamilton London Correspondent
Updated 1 minute ago
The son of the ousted Kyrgyzstan president has been granted temporary admission to Britain in a move likely to raise diplomatic tensions with the former Soviet bloc country.
Lawyers for Maxim Bakiyev, 32, confirmed last night that he had been given temporary leave to remain while his claim for asylum is considered.
Mr Bakiyev, the son of toppled president Kurmanbek Bakiyev, has been accused of being behind this week’s ethnic violence in Osh. However, he told UK Border Agency officials that he has been made a scapegoat by his own country.
In a statement issued by his lawyers Carter Ruck, Mr Bakiyev said: “I have been forced into exile in fear for my life. The interim government in Kyrgyzstan accuses me of new crimes every day. The charges are bogus, to divert attention from their own crimes.
“They accuse me before there has been any opportunity for an investigation. Clearly they seek to try to make me a scapegoat for the chaos in the country. I view events in my homeland with horror and pray for an end to the violence.”
The death toll from the ethnic clashes in Osh stood at 192 last night, although officials warned that it could be ten times higher. Tens of thousands of refugees have been trying to flee into neighbouring Uzbekistan.
The interim Kyrgyz administration believes that Mr Bakiyev, who is one of Kyrgyzstan’s wealthiest men, financed the unrest.
Mr Bakiyev, who fled his country in April after his father was toppled from power in violent protests, flew into Farnborough airport in Hampshire on a private jet on Sunday.
The interim administration, led by Roza Otunbayeva, immediately called for his extradition. Mr Bakiyev is wanted over allegations of corrupt business practices related to fuel supply contracts he handled for a United States airbase in his home country. In April prosecutors launched criminal charges against him, accusing him of abuse of power and embezzling state loans.
Britain’s decision to grant temporary admission is therefore likely to raise diplomatic tensions.
Azimbek Beknazarov, deputy leader of the provisional government, has already warned that it would consider shutting a strategic US airbase if Britain refused to hand Mr Bakiyev over.
He said on Thursday: “England never gives up people who arrive on its territory. But since England and the US fight terrorism and the arrangement with the airbase is one of the elements of that fight, then they must give over Maxim Bakiyev.” The Government has no formal extradition treaty with Kyrgyzstan but it is understood that there are mechanisms that could be used to deport Mr Bakiyev. The Home Office has been unwilling to comment on any extradition arrangements.
Mr Bakiyev fled his country in April after his father was toppled from power in violent protests. His whereabouts since have been unknown although he was believed to be hiding in Latvia.
Nicknamed “the Prince” because of his lavish lifestyle, Mr Bakiyev’s links to Britain are unclear. He was one of the most senior officials in his father’s government, heading the agency responsible for the economy.
His whereabouts last night were unknown.
Fiona Hamilton London Correspondent
Updated 1 minute ago
The son of the ousted Kyrgyzstan president has been granted temporary admission to Britain in a move likely to raise diplomatic tensions with the former Soviet bloc country.
Lawyers for Maxim Bakiyev, 32, confirmed last night that he had been given temporary leave to remain while his claim for asylum is considered.
Mr Bakiyev, the son of toppled president Kurmanbek Bakiyev, has been accused of being behind this week’s ethnic violence in Osh. However, he told UK Border Agency officials that he has been made a scapegoat by his own country.
In a statement issued by his lawyers Carter Ruck, Mr Bakiyev said: “I have been forced into exile in fear for my life. The interim government in Kyrgyzstan accuses me of new crimes every day. The charges are bogus, to divert attention from their own crimes.
“They accuse me before there has been any opportunity for an investigation. Clearly they seek to try to make me a scapegoat for the chaos in the country. I view events in my homeland with horror and pray for an end to the violence.”
The death toll from the ethnic clashes in Osh stood at 192 last night, although officials warned that it could be ten times higher. Tens of thousands of refugees have been trying to flee into neighbouring Uzbekistan.
The interim Kyrgyz administration believes that Mr Bakiyev, who is one of Kyrgyzstan’s wealthiest men, financed the unrest.
Mr Bakiyev, who fled his country in April after his father was toppled from power in violent protests, flew into Farnborough airport in Hampshire on a private jet on Sunday.
The interim administration, led by Roza Otunbayeva, immediately called for his extradition. Mr Bakiyev is wanted over allegations of corrupt business practices related to fuel supply contracts he handled for a United States airbase in his home country. In April prosecutors launched criminal charges against him, accusing him of abuse of power and embezzling state loans.
Britain’s decision to grant temporary admission is therefore likely to raise diplomatic tensions.
Azimbek Beknazarov, deputy leader of the provisional government, has already warned that it would consider shutting a strategic US airbase if Britain refused to hand Mr Bakiyev over.
He said on Thursday: “England never gives up people who arrive on its territory. But since England and the US fight terrorism and the arrangement with the airbase is one of the elements of that fight, then they must give over Maxim Bakiyev.” The Government has no formal extradition treaty with Kyrgyzstan but it is understood that there are mechanisms that could be used to deport Mr Bakiyev. The Home Office has been unwilling to comment on any extradition arrangements.
Mr Bakiyev fled his country in April after his father was toppled from power in violent protests. His whereabouts since have been unknown although he was believed to be hiding in Latvia.
Nicknamed “the Prince” because of his lavish lifestyle, Mr Bakiyev’s links to Britain are unclear. He was one of the most senior officials in his father’s government, heading the agency responsible for the economy.
His whereabouts last night were unknown.