Tashiev has not yet been detained, but has reportedly been instructed not to leave town.
By April 30, 2026 
The former head of Kyrgyzstan’s State Committee for National Security, Kamchybek Tashiev, has reportedly been charged with allegedly attempting to violently seize power and abuse of office.
On , Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov dismissed Tashiev. After five years in power together, it seemed that the eki dos – the “two friends” – had finally fallen out.
On April 30, Tashiev’s lawyer, Ikramidin Aitkulov, told media in Kyrgyzstan – including and – that Tashiev had been charged under two articles of the country’s criminal code: Article 326 (“Violent seizure or retention of power, as well as an attempt to violently change the constitutional order”) and Article 337 (“Abuse of office”).
The details came soon after Tashiev – via Otkurbek Rakhmanov, the director of the Region TV channel – following weeks of speculation. Since Tashiev’s dismissal, his family and associates have been targeted with corruption allegations and some, including a nephew and a brother, have been arrested.
In his April 29 statement, Tashiev urged his supporters to remain “within the law” and expressed confidence that he will be acquitted.
Tashiev has not yet been detained, but has reportedly been instructed not to leave town.
While the details of the case have not been shared officially, Kyrgyz media report that the case relates to the “appeal of 75 people” – a that in February, which urged Kyrgyzstan’s government to move the next presidential elections into 2026, rather than waiting for January 2027. It also questioned how long Japarov’s term in office ought to be, given that he was first elected to a six-year term, followed by a constitutional revision that shorted the presidential term to five years – while allowing for two terms rather than one.
This apparently spooked the Japarov government, which in addition to dismissing Tashiev and shaking up the security services, to clarify the circumstances under which an early election could take place and under what version of the constitution. The court’s opinion determined that the parameters of the constitution cannot be changed retroactively, meaning that since Japarov was elected to a six-year term, he should serve out a six-year term – but that term still counts as his first. In essence, the court confirmed that the next Kyrgyz presidential election should take place in January 2027 and that Japarov would be eligible to run for one more term.
This settled the early election question, but also puts a timer on Japarov’s presidency – barring, of course, further constitutional tinkering.
As for Tashiev, he’s always publicly denied any ambitions to run for the presidency, despite some supporters promoting the idea.
This would not be the first time the Japarov government has cried “coup.” Back in 2023, the State Committee for National Security (SCNS), led by Tashiev, went after Adakhan Madumarov’s Butun Kyrgyzstan party, . Madumarov was ultimately . Although he was released, due to the statue of limitations related to the charges, . In , weeks ahead of the parliamentary election, the Japarov government accused a group of politicians linked to the Social Democrats party (itself derived from former Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev’s party, SDPK) of plotting a coup. As of , Kadyr Atambayev and others were still in pretrial detention.
Kyrgyzstan has a notoriously tumultuous political history, featuring three revolutions in 30 years (2005, 2010 and 2020). Given that Japarov himself came to power as the result of that churn, it’s perhaps not surprising that his government jumps at every shadow of possible political mobilization.