The legal proceedings surrounding former Kyrgyz State Committee for National Security head Kamchybek Tashiev have taken a confusing turn following an appeal hearing at the Bishkek City Court in early September. Tashiev, alongside former Parliament Speaker Nurlanbek Turgunbek uulu, former Member of Parliament Kurmankul Zulushev, and five others, had initially been found guilty in July of a coup attempt under Article 326 of the Kyrgyz criminal code, which covers the violent seizure or retention of power. While that verdict carried a four-year prison sentence, the judge had opted for three years of supervised probation, meaning Tashiev never spent a single day in detention.
Both the prosecution and the defense had challenged the July ruling, with prosecutors seeking harsher sentences and defense lawyers pushing for a complete acquittal. However, the appellate court reached a decision that neither party anticipated. The court reclassified the charges from the serious offense of attempting a violent seizure of power to "obstruction of the exercise of electoral rights" under Article 195. Consequently, all eight defendants were sentenced to four-year terms, which were immediately converted to two years of probation.
The shift in charges has drawn sharp criticism and confusion from legal representatives. Zhoomart Ashirbaev, representing Zulushev, stated that the reclassification proves the original investigation was based on unfounded charges and confirmed plans to file a cassation appeal with the Supreme Court. Latypbek Nuralimov, a lawyer for Turgunbek uulu, noted that the change to a less serious charge was the basis for the reduced probation period. Meanwhile, lawyer Chinara Dzhakupbekova expressed bewilderment regarding the application of Article 195, noting that it typically pertains to active elections, yet no elections are scheduled in Kyrgyzstan until January 2027.
The case originated from the so-called "Letter of 75," an appeal signed by 75 public figures in early February that urged President Sadyr Japarov to call for early elections while praising Tashiev’s initiatives. This letter led to Tashiev’s removal from the ruling tandem. The original trial, conducted largely behind closed doors, involved testimony regarding the letter’s reception in parliament. The proceedings were briefly opened in mid-June but closed again following a heated exchange between Tashiev and a witness regarding a 2005 murder. Following the latest appellate decision, Tashiev’s lawyer, Ikramidin Aitkulov, dismissed the ruling as "a stupid decision" and "completely illegal," confirming that the defense will continue to fight the conviction.
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Precisely how the letter constituted, or indicated, a coup attempt is not an argument the prosecutors have made clearly in public. And now the charge has been changed entirely, from coup plot to electoral obstruction – it’s not clear why or how or who made that change. The ultimate sentences shrunk from three years probation to two.
