Janish Bakiyev

Who is Janish Bakiyev?

Janish Bakiyev is the former chief of the State Security Service of Kyrgyzstan and brother of former president Kurmanbek Bakiyev.

In September 2006, Janybek resigned from his senior intelligence after being implicated in planting heroin in the luggage of the main opposition leader, Omurbek Tekebayev, who was later detained in Poland.

In the summer of 2008 his son Asylbek Saliev successfully sued two independent newspapers 'De Facto' and 'Alibi' for libel after they published an article alleging he was involved in a traffic accident that resulted in the death of a pedestrian. Saliev was awarded one million soms from each in compensation.

Kyrgyz politicians have regularly accused Janysh Bakiyev of manipulating the law enforcement agencies' illegal operations against the opposition and being the strong hand for his president brother.

In May 2010, an audio recording was posted anonymously on YouTube with a caption identifying the voices as those of Janish and Maxim Bakiyev, the former president's son. The men were discussing plans to arm groups to spread chaos across the south of Kyrgyzstan, sometime in June. Both men have denied the authenticity of the tape.