Kadyr Atambaev (left) and Temirlan Sultanbekov. Photo from akipress.org
The Pervomaysky District Court of Bishkek on October 8 handed down a verdict in the case of preparing a violent seizure of power. The defendants include members of the Social Democrats party and Kadyr Atambaev, son of former Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambaev, Akipress reports.
The court found party leader Temirlan Sultanbekov and his deputy, Kadyr Atambaev, guilty of organizing preparations for a violent seizure of power. Each was sentenced to four years in prison with confiscation of property. Taking into account the unserved portion of a sentence handed down by the Sverdlovsky District Court of Bishkek on April 24, 2025, in the vote-buying case, Sultanbekov's final term is seven years. Both men will serve their sentences in a general-regime colony.
Social Democrats member Ermek Ermatov was found guilty of concealing a crime and given one year of probationary supervision. Former parliament deputy Kubanychbek Kadyrov was fully acquitted.
Kazakh citizen Serikbay Kabylanbek was sentenced to one year and nine months in prison. He was released from custody because he had already served that term in pretrial detention, and he will be expelled from Kyrgyzstan.
Another defendant, Abdurakhim Abdrakhmanov, who holds Kazakh and Kyrgyz citizenship, was found to be an instigator of the plot. He received two years in prison with confiscation of property. Combined with verdicts in other cases issued in 2022 and 2023, his final term is eight years in a general-regime colony, with confiscation.
The trial was held behind closed doors and was presided over by Judge Iskander Sargaldakov.
The arrest of the former president's son and his supporters was reported on November 24 last year. Security forces said at the time that a criminal case had been opened against several defendants on suspicion of preparing mass unrest, which was to begin after the parliamentary elections on November 30. The Ministry of Internal Affairs described a «destructive group» that included politicians, former deputies, ex-civil servants and law enforcement officers. According to the ministry, the group recruited supporters, including from organized criminal groups and sports communities, for provocations and violent clashes.
Initially, all suspects were held in custody, but the preventive measures for some defendants were later eased. Kubanychbek Kadyrov and Shailoobek Atazov were moved to house arrest, and Damir Musakeev was released on a written pledge not to leave. In July 2026, the case materials on three defendants, Atazov, Musakeev and Urmat Baryktabasov, were separated into a separate proceeding.
