Last Updated: Friday, 25 May 2012, 13:06 GMT

Title	Kyrgyz protesters attack lawmakers, disrupt parliament session
Publisher	Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
Country	Kyrgyzstan
Publication Date	15 August 2011
Cite as	Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Kyrgyz protesters attack lawmakers, disrupt parliament session, 15 August 2011, available at: http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/4e5cdbb2c.html [accessed 27 May 2012]
Disclaimer	This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

Kyrgyz protesters attack lawmakers, disrupt parliament session

August 15, 2011

Activists block an entrance to the seat of the Kyrgyz parliament during a protest rally in Bishkek on August 15 over the treatment of former Defense Minister Vaktybek Kalyev.

Several hundred protesters in Kyrgyzstan have attacked lawmakers and disrupted parliament over the legislature's support of a politician accused of ordering army troops to fire on demonstrators during the popular uprising that swept former President Kurmanbek Bakiev from power last year.

The protesters blocked entrances to the national assembly in Bishkek and punched and kicked some parliament members as they entered the building.

Kyrgyzstan's parliament last week voted to transfer from a detention center to house arrest former Defense Minister Vaktybek Kalyev, whom prosecutors accuse of ordering army troops to fire on anti-Bakiev protesters on April 7, 2010.

Nearly 100 people were killed and more than 300 were wounded during the clashes.

The August 15 demonstration was intended to pressure parliament to place Kalyev back in detention and also to cancel the legislature's recent appointment of dozens of judges loyal to Bakiev.

compiled from agency reports

Link to original story on RFE/RL website

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