Minsk declines to extradite Bakiyev - Kyrgyz prosecutor general

BISHKEK. April 7 (Interfax) - Kyrgyzstan has been unable to achieve extradition of former Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev and his relatives, Kyrgyz Prosecutor General Kurmankul Zulushev said.

"The extradition of the Bakiyevs is currently impossible. Belarus has refused to transfer the former president to the Kyrgyz authorities," Zulushev said in response to questions from parliament deputies.

The Prosecutor General's Office sent an official letter, but Belarus has turned it down, he said.

Bakiyev fled Kyrgyzstan after the opposition clashed law enforcement in the center of Bishkek on April 7, 2010. Then, over 80 people were killed and about 300 were injured in Bishkek. Kurmanbek Bakiyev and his brother Zhanybek (Zhanysh) were found guilty of complicity in multiple killings on April 7, 2010, and sentenced in absentia to life in prison. Later, the lifetime sentence for Kurmanbek Bakiyev was replaced with 30 years in prison.

Kurmanbek and Zhanybek Bakiyev currently reside in Belarus.