MOSCOW. Feb 17 (Interfax) - Adil Toiganbayev, the son-in-law of former Kyrgyz president Askar Akayev, who has been wanted by Interpol since 2005, has been detained in Moscow for the second time in a week, his lawyer Nikolai Polozov told Interfax.
"My client Adil Toiganbayev was detained tonight by the Moscow police for 48 hours because there has been an Interpol warrant for him for nine years. For the first time he was detained for a similar term on February 9 in Sheremetyevo airport when he tired to fly back to his home country, Kazakhstan," Polozov said on Saturday.
"Given the tightening of security in Russia in relation to the Olympiad all warrants were updated therefore formally he had to be detained. Now he is at Kitai-Gorod police precinct from where he will be taken to the detention facility in 38, Petrovka," the lawyer added.
He said that after Toiganbayev's first detention in Sheremetyevo a query was sent to Kyrgyzstan but no reply was received and his client was released. Thus Toiganbayev cannot leave for home and during his stay in Russia he can be detained again, Polozov said.
He added that during the nine years of existence of the Interpol warrant Toiganbayev never had problems with crossing the border and visited Russia many times.
"Declaring him wanted was illegal and groundless and was related to persecution of the family of former president Akayev after the change of power in Kyrgyzstan in 2005," Polozov said.
In March 2008 the Prosecutor General's office of Kazakhstan announced that it would not expel Toiganbayev to Kyrgyzstan but expressed readiness to conduct its own investigation, if any evidence of his offenses were produced.
Kazakhstan refused to extradite Toiganbayev on the basis of the international convention on legal assistance and legal relations in civil, family and criminal cases.
Toiganbayev is married to Bermet Akayeva, the daughter of former Kyrgyz president Askar Akayev. According to Kyrgyz media reports citing the Prosecutor General's office, six criminal cases were launched against him.
Kyrgyzstan requested the extradition of Toiganbayev from Kazakhstan in June 2007.