Prisoners kill Kyrgyz MP in hostage drama

By Olga Dzyubenko

BISHKEK (Reuters) – Inmates at a prison hospital in
ex-Soviet Kyrgyzstan killed a parliamentarian and two other
people after taking him and his entourage hostage on Thursday,
the Justice Ministry said.

The deputy, Tynychbek Akmatbayev, had been visiting the
tuberculosis hospital attached to Prison No. 31, about 15 miles
northwest of the capital Bishkek, when the violence erupted.

“The deputy Akmatbayev died from gunshot wounds,” said a
spokesman for the Justice Ministry’s prisons service who asked
not to be named. He could not immediately say how the prisoners
acquired weapons.

A further two members of his entourage were killed and the
head of the prisons service, Imatulla Polotov, was critically
injured. A parliament spokeswoman said earlier gunshots could
be heard at the time of the hostage-taking.

A riot at another prison earlier this week, prompted by a
protest against poor living conditions, forced the staff to
evacuate the grounds and security forces to surround it.

Kyrgyzstan, a poor and mountainous Central Asian state
bordering China, has been unstable since violent protests
ousted former President Askar Akayev in March.

Prime Minister Felix Kulov, himself a prisoner under
Akayev, had arrived at the prison, the Justice Ministry said.

It was not immediately clear if the hostage-takers had made
any demands, but Akmatbayev was involved in negotiations on
Wednesday at the other prison, also near Bishkek. That prison
remained surrounded by security forces on Thursday.

The riot in the first prison, which houses 2,000 prisoners,
broke out on Tuesday. Kyrgyzstan has around 18,000 prison
inmates.