A court in Kyrgyzstan has found Kamchybek Tashiev guilty of attempting to violently seize power

A Kyrgyz court has found former security chief Kamchybek Tashiev guilty of attempting to violently seize power from his longtime ally and friend, President Sadyr Japarov.

The conviction stems from an incident earlier this year when several high-ranking officials published an open letter calling for early presidential elections.

Intriguingly, Tashiev neither signed nor published the document, and his defense team maintains it remains entirely unclear why the court concluded he was part of a conspiracy. In the petition—now widely known as the "Letter of 75"—the authors praised Japarov’s achievements but argued that the country nevertheless required early election.

President Japarov interpreted the public call as a coordinated coup attempt and immediately purged the signatories holding public office. Tashiev was dismissed from his dual roles as head of the State Committee for National Security (GKNB) and deputy chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers. Along with several subordinates, Tashiev was charged and convicted, though his lawyer noted that the prosecution failed to specify what overt acts the former security chief actually committed.

The court handed Tashiev a four-year prison sentence and ordered the confiscation of his property, but immediately commuted the prison term to a three-year probation period.

At the time the letter was published, President Japarov stated he felt compelled to remove his friend from office because political factions were actively plotting behind the scenes to force an early election, allegedly using Tashiev’s name as cover. Japarov insisted at the time that the judiciary should determine whether Tashiev was genuinely complicit in a plot to seize power.

Tashiev was not alone in the verdict. The court handed down identical sentences and probation terms to two other prominent figures - Kurmankul Zulushev, the former Prosecutor General and Nurlanbek Turgunbek uulu, the former Speaker of Parliament.

Tashiev’s legal team has already announced its intention to appeal the ruling.

The convictions mark a dramatic fracture in what was once considered the most powerful political partnership in Kyrgyzstan. Widely viewed by the public as an inseparable ruling tandem, Japarov and Tashiev’s alliance dates back to the early 2010s.

In 2012, the two men were arrested together after attempting to scale the fence of the Kyrgyz presidential palace, known as the "White House," during a chaotic rally demanding the nationalization of the Kumtor gold mine. Years later, in October 2020, both were broken out of prison by loyal supporters during the violent mass protests that overthrew the previous government and ultimately propelled Japarov to the presidency.

Despite the severe political fallout of the trial, both men have previously insisted their personal bond would survive. Following Tashiev’s ouster in February, Japarov publicly maintained that they would "remain friends." For his part, Tashiev has frequently declared since 2020 that "only death" could sever his friendship with the president.