Kyrgyzstan charges two with hate crime for anti-Putin protest

Kyrgyzstan has charged two people with inciting inter-ethnic hatred after they protested a visit to the Central Asian country by Russian President Vladimir Putin, their lawyer said Thursday.

Nurlan Karymshakov and Gulzana Imayeva, who are husband and wife, were arrested while staging a protest outside the Russian embassy in the capital Bishkek on Wednesday, the lawyer, Zamir Zhooshev, told AFP.

Activists said the pair held posters calling Putin a "killer" and an "occupier" and called for Russia to leave the military base it controls in Kyrgyzstan.

Putin arrived Thursday on a state visit to Kyrgyzstan, an impoverished ex-Soviet ally that looks to Russia for much-needed investment and security. Kyrgyz police confirmed the arrests but did not provide further details.

"They have been charged with inciting inter-ethnic hatred," lawyer Zhooshev said.

The offence "is a serious crime and can carry a prison sentence up to 10 years," he said, calling the charges "complete nonsense."