Opposition groups said the police officers involved seemed more like criminals. They told the Russian Interfax news agency the three leaders were traveling in separate cars from a conference in Narya to the capital, Bishkek, on a mountain road when they were stopped.

The former parliamentary deputies were detained by masked men who fired warning shots.

The Interior Ministry said police had set up two checkpoints on the road after getting a tip that criminals would be driving to Bishkek. One car that arrived shortly before the opposition leaders was driven by a known mobster who had a gun, police said.

Police at the first checkpoint said the cars with the former deputies did not stop, so they had a blockade set up at the second checkpoint. Officials said the men were released as soon as they had been identified and the officers involved apologized to them.