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Kyrgyzstan arrests opposition leader

Sunday, 26 February 2017 8:22 AM [ Last Update: Sunday, 26 February 2017 8:23 AM ]

This file photo shows Omurbek Tekebayev, the leader of Ata-Meken party, in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, November 10, 2010. (Via Reuters)

Kyrgyzstan has arrested a veteran opposition leader on corruption charges as political tensions mount in the Central Asian country ahead of a November presidential poll.

Omurbek Tekebayev, 58, who leads the nominally socialist Ata-Meken party, was detained on Sunday in connection with an investigation into corruption at a key telecommunications company, the State Committee for National Security (GKNB) said in a statement.

The statement added that Tekebayev will be in detention for at least 48 hours.

Tekebayev is a bitter adversary of incumbent President Almazbek Atambayev. His arrest came after two other members of his party were questioned for four and nearly nine hours, respectively, in unrelated corruption cases earlier this month.

In December last year, the Ata-Meken party showed strong opposition to a referendum on constitutional changes that was driven by President Atambayev’s office.

Tekebayev recently called for President Atambayev’s impeachment and urged authorities to probe the president and his family members for evidence of corruption.

Kyrgyzstan President Almazbek Atambayev. (Photo by AFP)

President Atambayev is constitutionally restricted to a single six-year term and says he has no intention of easing into the office of prime minister, a position whose powers were boosted by the recent constitutional changes.

Tekebayev has so far not declared his intention to run in the presidential vote set for November 19.

An ex-Soviet republic, Kyrgyzstan has been politically volatile in recent times. The country experienced two revolutions that unseated presidents in 2005 and 2010 followed by ethnic violence that left over 400 dead.

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