BISHKEK (RFE/RL) — A court in Kyrgyzstan has sentenced ex-President Askar Akaev’s former son-in-law to 20 years in prison in absentia. Adil Toighanbaev was found guilty of financial fraud, tax evasion, and the illegal privatization of property.

Askar Akaev

Toighanbaev, a 50-year-old Kazakh national, is the ex-husband of Akaev’s eldest daughter, Bermet Akaeva.

In 2013, authorities in Kazakhstan detained Toighanbaev at Interpol’s request but refused to extradite him to Kyrgyzstan, saying they do not extradite Kazakh citizens to foreign countries. Toighanbaev was also detained in Dubai in 2016 and in Moscow in 2014, but never extradited to Kyrgyzstan.

The first president of post-Soviet Kyrgyzstan, Akayev, 72, was ousted by protesters in March 2005 and fled to Moscow, where he remains. He is wanted by Kyrgyz authorities for alleged corruption.