BISHKEK. Feb 14 (Interfax) - The former Kyrgyz Parliament speaker, Ata-Zhurt opposition party leader Akhmatbek Keldibekov, who has been accused of corruption, will remain in custody until March 27.
The Kyrgyz Prosecutor's Office earlier asked the Oktyabrsky District Court in the country's capital, Bishkek, to prolong his custodial term until the end of March, a Supreme Court spokesman told Interfax on Friday.
Keldibekov is suspected of committing corruption-related crimes when he headed the Social Fund and the Tax Inspectorate in 2008-2010. He also faces charges of abuse of power dating back to when he held the post of parliament speaker (2010-2011).
"The petition was lodged in light of the need to bring the investigation to a conclusion,' the spokesman said.
The court session was held at a Bishkek hospital where Keldibekov is currently being treated following three emergency operations, he said.
Keldibekov was detained in Bishkek in mid-November 2013 and was remanded into custody.
His lawyers insist that the ex-speaker should be released from a pre-trial detention center and placed under house arrest.