Former President of Kyrgyzstan Sooronbai Jeenbkov flew out of the country with his family, according to the 24.kg news agency.
Former President's spokeswoman Tolgonai Stamalieva said the former leader is on a pilgrimage to Mecca, where she will perform a small hajj.
“In the morning he and his wife flew to Istanbul, then they will follow to Jeddah (Saudi Arabia). The ex-president is making this trip at the invitation of the King of Saudi Arabia, ”Stamalieva said. The trip was planned, the spokeswoman said.
According to her, the ex-president will stay in Saudi Arabia for 10 days and then return to Bishkek.
On October 4, regular parliamentary elections were held in Kyrgyzstan. Only 4 out of 16 political associations have overcome the parliamentary barrier. Those who did not agree with the election results went to a rally. The protests escalated into riots, about 1,000 people were injured, and one person died.
On October 9, President Jeenbekov dismissed the government, and on October 15 voluntarily resigned, saying that he did not want to be “a president who shed blood and shot at his own citizens.” He was given the status of ex-president with privileges, including life-long immunity.
At the end of January, the victims of the October events, who created a special movement, wrote a statement on the prosecution of the ex-president for dispersing the protesters. They demand to deprive Jeenbekov of the ex-president's status. On February 2, the General Prosecutor's Office of the republic sent a statement to the State Committee for National Security and the Ministry of Internal Affairs demanding that Jeenbekov be held accountable for the October events.
In the early presidential elections on January 10, Sadyr Japarov, who previously served as the country's prime minister, won.
