Relatives of Kyrgyz coup victims threw stones at the embassy of Belarus in Bishkek on Tuesday during a rally to demand extradition of the ex-president and his brother, accused of mass murders in absentia.
An embassy official said several dozen people threw stones at the embassy building, breaking windows, but “no embassy employees were injured in the attack.”
The protesters called for severing diplomatic ties between the two states, accusing Minsk of “harboring the murderers,” and demanded to see the Belarusian ambassador.
Bishkek recalled its ambassador from Minsk on Friday after images of the wanted former Kyrgyz president’s brother and his two assistants made near a restaurant in Minsk appeared on the internet.
Former Kyrgyz president Kurmanbek Bakiyev and many of his relatives and supporters fled into exile after a mass uprising in April 2010 that ousted the president.
The ex-president and his brother Zhanybek, who then headed the National Guard Service, are accused of giving the order to open fire on crowds of protesters. About 90 people were killed and some 1,000 injured as a result. Zhanybek is also accused of triple murder of the former presidential administration chief Medet Sadyrkulov, chief of the International Institute of Strategic Studies Sergei Slepchenko, and driver Kubat Sulaimanov.
Opposition forces, brought to power by the revolt, put the two brothers on the international wanted list and the Interpol has issued a red notice for them.
Kyrgyzstan has repeatedly asked Belarus to honor its international legal commitments and extradite the Bakiyevs.
Kyrgyz foreign ministry spokesman Nurzhigit Kadyrbekov said on Tuesday the country would demand the extradition of the Bakiyev brothers via international organizations, including the CIS executive committee.
