Kyrgyzstan arrests five people suspected of plotting a coup

5 Jul. (EUROPA PRESS) –

Kyrgyz authorities said on Friday they had arrested five members of a group planning to carry out a coup in the country using weapons and explosives, shortly before President Sadir Japarov left the country for an official trip to Azerbaijan.

The State Committee for National Security said the “destructive group” planned to organize “riots” to destabilize the political situation and said the five detainees had been transferred to a detention center run by the agency.

He also said that all of them “support a criminal ideology” and are “religious fanatics”, without giving further details, before adding that weapons, explosives, communication devices and bulletproof vests were seized in the operations, according to the official Kyrgyz agency, Kabar.