Kyrgyz ex-president sentenced to 11 years in prison

In this file photo taken on July 03, 2019 Former Kyrgyzstan's president Almazbek Atambayev waves to his supporters as he attends a rally in Bishkek. Kyrgyzstan's former president was sentenced to 11 years in jail on June 23, 2020 over the illegal release of a crime boss, in a case that caused a power struggle with his successor to turn violent. (AFP)

• The court found Atambayev guilty of ordering a convicted criminal released from prison

BISHKEK: A court in Kyrgyzstan sentenced former President Almazbek Atambayev to 11 years and two months in prison on Tuesday on corruption charges, which the former leader of the Central Asian nation has denied.
The court found Atambayev guilty of ordering a convicted criminal released from prison, in a case his supporters have dismissed as driven by a political conflict between Atambayev and his successor, President Sooronbai Jeenbekov.