Felix Kulov
 elix Kulov was born on October 29, 1948, the son of a Colonel in the Soviet army. As an adult, Kulov became a political activist and helped draft both the Kyrgz Constitution and Declaration of Independence. Currently, he is jailed, convicted of politically motivated charges of embezzlement. During the 1990s he served as Governor of the Chui Province, National Security Minister, Vice President, Minister of the Interior and Mayor of Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan's capital). Political unrest existed throughout the country for much of the decade and civil war was threatened many times. Kulov worked tirelessly to successfully prevent this. His hard work earned the accolade "the People's General" after he helped ward off an attempted Soviet coup. He ultimately resigned from the Vice Presidency after differences with President Chyngyshev's undemocratic policies. When the President refused to change he resigned from his position of Mayor as well. His resignation read, in part, "I hereby ask you to acknowledge my resignation. I do not find it possible to continue working under your direction, since I believe that under your connivance actions that intrinsically do not comply with the democratic and legal framework are being brought into play. It is my belief that the recent events are nothing else but renewed "search and liquidation of rivalries and oppositionists", which has already taken previously place in our history. Meanwhile, there are attempts seen with the naked eye to create public opinion about me as a main organizer of your unconstitutional removal and as one of the most corrupt of the country."
In July 1999, he teamed with other opposition leaders to form a political party "Ar-Namys" which means "dignity." The following February, he announced intentions to run for president. Following the announcement, he was arrested by government officials under false charges of instigation and abuse of position while the Minister of National Security. In March 2000, he attempted to participate in the Parliamentary elections, which were full of violations. Agitators were sent by the ruling party to disrupt voting, and distributed "humanitarian aid" in the form of money. Over 350 violations were recorded. In November 2001 he was elected Chairman of the People's Congress of Kyrgyzstan, which is comprised of Kuvalov's Ar-Namys party, Ata-Meken, the "People's Party" and Party Erkindik. Goals of the congress include the formation of a more stable democratic state with a stable economic system. He was acquitted by military court but a judicial review board overturned the verdict and the case was sent to a different panel that later convicted him of embezzling money while he was governor of the Chui Province. He received a sentence of 10 yrs in prison, had his property confiscated and was fined 20 million soms (over 400,000 Euro). During the reading of the verdict, court guards beat him. Denied access to his lawyer and unable to have independent authorities examine him to determine extent of beatings, he remains in prison.
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