Kyrgyzstan's Lawmaker Skips Flight, Indicating Expansion in Crusade Against Criminal Syndicates
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Take a leisurely stroll down the political rabbit hole of Kyrgyzstan, where lawmakers scurry like critters on the run. Kyrgyz MP Emil Zhamgyrchiyev skedaddled from the Jogorku Kenesh (Kyrgyzstan's parliament) like a cat on a hot tin roof, fleeing investigators hot on his tail.
On January 9, the parliamentary subcommittee gathered for a vote on whether Zhamgyrchiyev's immunity from prosecution should be revoked. With the cameramen watching, the lawmaker made a dash for the nearest window, climbed out, and shimmied his way to freedom. Security footage captured his daring escape, with the MP eventually jumping over some nearby coffee shop fences. As of January 12, he remains a fugitive.
Trouble brewed for Zhamgyrchiyev in December, when Prosecutor General Kurmankul Zulushev filed a request with the parliament to lift his immunity due to suspicions that he illegally entered Uzbekistan. Investigators, who have been chasing this case for nearly a year, claim that Zhamgyrchiyev sought the assistance of a notorious crime lord: Salim Abduvaliyev, better known as Salimbay or Salim the Rich.
Documents uncovered by WikiLeaks in 2011 refer to Abduvaliyev as a "Tashkent mafia chieftain," but his influence waned following the death of the late President Islam Karimov in 2016. Abduvaliyev, an elderly former wrestler, made quite the comeback in 2017 when he was appointed vice president of the Uzbekistan National Olympic Committee and head of the Uzbekistan Wrestling Association. Local press affectionately dubbed him an "entrepreneur" and a "philanthropist," with multiple awards and titles bestowed upon him by the current president, Shavkat Mirziyoyev.
However, Abduvaliyev's days of power and influence seem to be dwindling. On December 5, he was detained for allegedly possessing illegal firearms — an offence punishable by up to ten years in prison. According to authorities, they had been pursuing Abduvaliyev and other suspects "for months and years."
Yet, it's important to note that this all transpired months before Zhamgyrchiyev sought assistance from Abduvaliyev.
State Committee for National Security head Kamchybek Tashiyev shared further incriminating evidence against Zhamgyrchiyev at a hearing in the Jogorku Kenesh on January 10. In his possession was a stack of letters allegedly penned by Zhamgyrchiyev to Abduvaliyev, revealing derogatory remarks about Kyrgyzstan's national leadership and a request for the crime boss's help.
Seventy-eight of the 81 MPs present voted in favor of lifting Zhamgyrchiyev's immunity, with just two opposed to the motion and the rest abstaining. The authorities intend to interrogate Zhamgyrchiyev but leave the matter to the courts to resolve.
The latest political drama unfolds against the backdrop of an ongoing power struggle between Kyrgyzstan's authorities and organized crime groups. This confrontation reached its climax in October, when the country's most prominent gangland figure, Kamchybek Kolbayev, was gunned down by security services special forces. State Committee for National Security head Tashiyev warned organized crime elements to cease their illegal activities, vowing that his department would put a stop to their reign in Kyrgyzstan.
Sports commentators discuss the dramatic escape of Kyrgyz MP Emil Zhamgyrchiyev, comparing his daring act to famous sports maneuvers, as the political saga intertwines with general-news headlines about the ongoing power struggle between Kyrgyzstan's authorities and organized crime groups, including discussions on whether Salim Abduvaliyev, a former wrestler and crime boss, will face charges for illegal activities. Meanwhile, crime-and-justice coverage continues to follow the investigation of Zhamgyrchiyev's request for assistance from Abduvaliyev, as well as Abduvaliyev's recent detainment for allegedly possessing illegal firearms.
