Ex-Kyrgyz President Bakiyev, sentenced to 30 years, to be jailed if he returns home

BISHKEK. May 30 (Interfax) - The Kyrgyz authorities do not plan to return former Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev to the country, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov said in an interview with the Kyrgyz news agency Kabar.

"The authorities do not plan to return Kurmanbek Bakiyev to Kyrgyzstan. If he shows up, of course, he will be arrested," Japarov said.

"Bakiyev was sentenced to imprisonment for 30 years. All of us must learn to abide by the law. I don't have any powers to overturn court rulings. If Bakiyev appeals for pardon, I only have the right to grant or refuse it. I must make such a decision taking into account the opinions of the citizens who were hurt in 2010. I don't think that the court could acquit [the ex-president's brother and son] Zhanysh and Maxim Bakiev. Because they were given life sentences," Japarov said.

Bakiyev held the post of Kyrgyz president from 2005 to 2010. He came to power as a result of the "Tulip Revolution" against then-President Askar Akayev, and was elected the country's president in 2009, but was overthrown in April 2010 and left Kyrgyzstan.

Kyrgyz courts convicted Bakiyev in absentia and gave him a life sentence for his role in ordering troops to fire on protesters in Bishkek on April 7, 2010. His term was then reduced to 30 years.

According to media outlets, he currently resides in Belarus.