Some 50 Kyrgyz police removed from duty over public protest

More than 50 traffic police in Kyrgyzstan's capital Bishkek were removed from active duty for participating in an unauthorized protest held earlier in February, a police spokesman said on Monday. Some 150 police officers took part in the unauthorized demonstration on February 15 in the capital of the Central Asian country to protest the unexplained death of one of their coworkers who was found hanged in a prison cell after being detained for allegedly accepting a bribe. Many of the law enforcers showed up at the demonstration in police vehicles and in their police uniforms, calling officials who had detained their coworker "murderers." "More than 50 employees were removed from [active traffic] duty and transferred to departments in the Interior Ministry, another four were fired from the ministry," the spokesman said adding that around 100 officers were also reprimanded for their actions. According to Kyrgyzstan's laws, employees from law enforcement agencies do not have the right to participate in protests or other political events.