BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan, Sept. 15 (UPI) -- The government in Bishkek is initiating court proceedings against deposed President Kurmanbek Bakiyev, the Kyrgyz deputy prime minister said.
Bakiyev fled to Belarus in April after opposition forces loyal to Roza Otunbayeva overthrew the government. Minsk has refused requests for his extradition, saying it doesn't recognize the authority of the interim government in Bishkek.
Deputy Prime Minister Azimbek Beknazarov said the Kyrgyz government was going ahead with legal proceedings of its own against the ousted president.
"We will no longer file (extradition) requests because his case is being sent to court," he was quoted by Russia's state-run news agency RIA Novosti as saying.
The interim government accuses Bakiyev of stoking ethnic tensions in the south of Kyrgyzstan, his former stronghold. Hundreds of people were killed and thousands were displaced in conflicts between the Uzbek and Kyrgyz communities following the coup.
Members of the Bakiyev family face similar charges by the interim government, the deputy prime minister said.
Otunbayeva said she would consider canceling parliamentary elections scheduled for October if ethnic violence resumed.
