BISHKEK -- Dozens of relatives of arrested Kyrgyz security officers gathered on the Old Square in Bishkek to demand their immediate release, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reports.
One officer of Kyrgyzstan's elite "Alfa" security unit and eight officers of a second security unit were arrested in May this year for their role in the violent dispersal of mass antigovernment protests in Bishkek on April 7, during which 86 people were killed.
The relatives say the jailed officers were just following orders and instructions given to them by their commanders.
The April 7 clashes led to the ouster of President Kurmanbek Bakiev.
The interim government headed by Roza Otunbaeva that then took over the country started an investigation into the clashes.
One officer of Kyrgyzstan's elite "Alfa" security unit and eight officers of a second security unit were arrested in May this year for their role in the violent dispersal of mass antigovernment protests in Bishkek on April 7, during which 86 people were killed.
The relatives say the jailed officers were just following orders and instructions given to them by their commanders.
The April 7 clashes led to the ouster of President Kurmanbek Bakiev.
The interim government headed by Roza Otunbaeva that then took over the country started an investigation into the clashes.
