The head of the Ministry of Health and the Prosecutor General have been temporarily suspended from work. The decision was made by the President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Japarov.

According to his press service, the president signed a decree according to which, in order to ensure a comprehensive and fair consideration of the criminal case against the Minister of Health Alymkadyr Beishenaliev, taking into account the constitutional principle of the presumption of innocence, according to which everyone is considered innocent of a crime until guilt is not proven in the manner prescribed by law and made by a court verdict enters into legal force, as well as the principle of comprehensiveness, completeness and objectivity of the investigation of the circumstances of cases, defined by the Criminal Procedure Code of the Kyrgyz Republic, taking into account the established personal relations between the head of the Ministry of Health and the Prosecutor General, both are suspended from their work for investigation period.

The Prosecutor General’s Office of Kyrgyzstan opened seven criminal cases against the Health Minister Alymkadyr Beishenaliev. One criminal case was initiated on corruption, two — on extortion of a bribe, and four — on abuse of official position and conclusion of a deliberately unprofitable contract.

The Prosecutor General’s Office also announced detention of three more officials of the Ministry of Health as part of a criminal case on corruption in the procurement of vaccines against COVID-19.

Deputy Minister Uluk-Bek Bekturganov, director of the Republican Center for Immunoprophylaxis Gulbara Ishenapysova and head of the Department of Medicines and Medical Products Sultan Satarbekov were detained.