Kyrgyz ex-interior minister arrested

[April 26, 2010]  BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan (AP) -- Kyrgyzstan's security service says it has taken the former interior minister into custody on unspecified charges.

It is the highest-profile arrest to date of a member of the Central Asian country's recently deposed government.

The State Security Service said Monday that Moldomusa Kongantiyev was extradited from Russia over the weekend in a joint operation with Russia's Federal Security Service.

President Kurmanbek Bakiyev was overthrown amid violent clashes between government troops and demonstrators on April 7 that left at least 85 people dead. Bakiyev has taken refuge in Belarus.

Bakiyev's brother Zhanybek, the chief of the presidential guards, is wanted by the interim government for allegedly issuing the order to fire at protesters.

[Associated Press]

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