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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 
 
BISHKEK 00001302  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
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 
 
BISHKEK 00001302  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
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