KYRGYZ PARLIAMENTARIAN TEKEBAYEV ARRESTED FOR

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BISHKEK 001302

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/08/2016
TAGS: PGOV PREL KG
SUBJECT: KYRGYZ PARLIAMENTARIAN TEKEBAYEV ARRESTED FOR
SMUGGLING DRUGS; OPPOSITION CLAIMS SET-UP

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Classified By: DCM Lee Litzenberger, Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Former Speaker of Parliament and outspoken
government critic Omurbek Tekebayev was arrested September 5
at the Warsaw airport. He was allegedly carrying in his
luggage a matryoshka doll filled with heroin. When the story
broke in Kyrgyzstan the afternoon of September 7, opposition
members immediately claimed that the government had set up
Tekebayev. Airport surveillance video shown in Parliament
September 8 purported to show Tekebayev's luggage being taken
by airport personnel from the VIP lounge to a separate room
prior to being loaded on the plane (Post has obtained a copy
of the video). Parliament has formed a special commission to
investigate the case, and President Bakiyev has ordered a
joint commission of MFA and Procurator General's Office
representatives to travel to Poland to provide assistance to
Tekebayev. NGO leaders held a press conference to express
full support for Tekebayev. We find it implausible that
Tekebayev would have been smuggling heroin, and if the taped
evidence holds up, the government will have some serious
explaining to do. END SUMMARY.


2. (SBU) Late in the afternoon of September 7, the news broke
in Bishkek that former Speaker of Parliament and current
opposition MP Omurbek Tekebayev had been detained September 5
by Polish authorities at the Warsaw airport after they found
a matryoshka doll with 600 grams of heroin in his luggage.
Tekebayev had traveled the same day from Bishkek via Istanbul
along with MP Yuri Danilov and Prof. Zainidin Kurmanov to
attend an economic conference in Poland. Kurmanov (who spoke
to NGO contacts in Bishkek) said he thought Polish
authorities had been tipped off, as they went directly to the
Kyrgyz delegation's luggage and immediately questioned them.
Danilov and Kurmanov were not detained.


3. (SBU) Reaction to the news in Bishkek was swift and
incredulous. Diplomatic contacts and others who have worked
closely with him completely doubted that Tekebayev would
smuggle drugs. Given the long-term animosity between
Tekebayev and President Bakiyev, several NGO leaders and
opposition MPs immediately charged that Tekebayev had been
set-up and that the entire episode was a government
"provocation" against the opposition. Tekebayev has been an
outspoken critic of the government, and he served as Speaker
of Parliament until he was forced out of that position in
February following a public dispute with the president. He
is also scheduled to be a prominent participant in the
September 17 "Kurultai," an opposition rally in Aksy district.


4. (SBU) An emergency session of Parliament September 8
produced fireworks. Deputy Speaker Tairbek Sarpashev
presented surveillance video from Bishkek's Manas
International Airport. Late on September 7, Sarpashev and
another MP went to Manas Airport and pulled out the archive
recordings from the morning of Tekebayev's outbound flight to
Istanbul. As narrated by Sarpashev, the tapes show
Tekebayev's bag being taken by airport personnel from the VIP
lounge toward the check-in area, along with other bags from
the VIP lounge. Tekebayev's bag, however, was separated from
the other bags and taken to another room; it was then brought
back to the check-in area 15 minutes later. Head of Airport
Security (and former SNB official) Nadir Mamyrov, the shift
chief from the VIP lounge, and a police officer (who
previously worked at the airport) were observed showing an
interest in Tekebayev's bag.


5. (U) Parliament appointed a five-member commission to
investigate the case, and five MPs will travel to Warsaw
September 9 to provide assistance to Tekebayev. President
Bakiyev also ordered a joint commission of MFA and Procurator
General's Office representatives to travel to Poland to
provide diplomatic and legal assistance to Tekebaev.


6. (SBU) Following the Parliamentary session, there was
pandemonium as MPs and other government officials rushed to
give press interviews. SNB Chief Bursumankul Tabaldiyev, who
attended the session, said that it was in "everyone's best

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interest" to look into the details of the case. NGO
Coalition leader Edil Baisalov charged that the entire event
had been a provocation, and he called on the government to
make a statement of support for Tekebayev. He urged
journalists to follow "ethical norms" in their coverage of
the story. He urged people to "remain calm" and let the
investigation go forward. Prime Minister Kulov said he was
confident of Tekebayev's innocence. Not all reaction,
however, has been as measured. Tekebayev's supporters
blocked the Osh-Bishkek road for several hours, and
opposition MP Melis Eshimkanov reportedly has called for a
protest rally on September 11.


7. (C) COMMENT: The story resembles the plotline of a bad
movie: drugs inside matryoshka doll? Intrigue at the
airport caught on surveillance video? If the drugs were
planted on Tekebayev, it was an incredibly stupid move by his
political opponents. Tekebayev's fellow parliamentarians
were quick to offer support, and even President Bakiyev
offered support to his long-time enemy -- though perhaps this
was done to minimize political fall-out.


8. (C) COMMENT CON'T: Post obtained a copy of the
surveillance tapes from Tekebayev's Ata-Meken Party, and Edil
Baisalov told us that he will post the video to his Internet
blog. We are not in a position to judge the validity of all
portions of the video, but it does clearly show Tekebayev
arriving in the VIP lounge with his luggage and it does show
what appears to be Tekebayev's bag being taken away by an
airport employee in a different direction from the other
bags.


9. (C) COMMENT CON'T: We agree with nearly everyone else in
Kyrgyzstan that it is extremely unlikely that Tekebayev was
smuggling drugs, but we should point out that his brother was
convicted in 1996, and amnestied shortly thereafter, for
possession of 8.5 kilograms of opium. The surveillance video
appears to present pretty damning evidence of a set up, and
if it holds up, the government will have some serious
explaining to do. END COMMENT.
YOVANOVITCH