Kazakh authorities release well-known Kyrgyz musician

Kazakhstan authorities have released well-known Kyrgyz musician Vikram Ruzakhunov, whose arrest over his alleged participation in the Kazakh unrest sparked outrage in neighboring Kyrgyzstan.

Ruzakhunov was shown in a video on Kazakh television saying he had flown to the country to take part in protests and was promised $200.

In the video, apparently taken in police custody, Ruzakhunov's face was bruised, and he had a large cut on his forehead.

Kyrgyzstan's Foreign Ministry had demanded Ruzakhunov's release, and the country's authorities on Monday sought to open a probe on charges of torture.

On Monday evening, Ruzakhunov returned to Kyrgyzstan.

He told a local TV channel that he came to Almaty on 2 January to visit a friend, but several days later, as the protests turned violent, decided to travel back to Kyrgyzstan and was detained.

In jail, Ruzakhnunov said he heard from cellmates that confessing to going to Almaty with the purpose of taking part in the protests and being offered money for it was the quickest way to get deported home, so that's what he decided to do.

"It was a path (home), so I decided to implicate myself, even though I didn't do it," Ruzakhunov said.