The Birinchi Mai District Court in Bishkek sentenced former Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambaev on Monday to 11 years in prison for illegally releasing crime boss Aziz Batukaev in 2013.

Batukaev was sentenced in 2006 to 16 years imprisonment for several crimes, including murder and organizing riots in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan. In 2013, he was diagnosed with blood cancer. Batukaev was then illegally released from prison, and he fled to Russia.

Following Batukaev’s release, there were allegations that officials were involved in his release. The National Security Committee arrested Atambaev in August 2019 on these allegations.

On Monday, Atambaev was found guilty of illegally releasing Batukaev. Former Prosecutor-General Indira Joldubaeva, former chief of the Hematology Center Abdukhalim Raimjanov, and former adviser to the State Penitentiary Service chief Kalybek Kachkynaliev were also found guilty.

Atambaev was sentenced to imprisonment for 11 years, and he was also sentenced to be deprived of all state awards and ranks. Some of his property, including vehicles and houses, will be confiscated.

Atambaev is the first president to be sentenced in the Kyrgyz Republic’s history.