Security services in Kyrgyzstan said they have arrested three politicians, including a former minister, on charges of plotting a coup.

Three members of the People's Parliament movement were arrested late on May 12 on coup charges in Bishkek, a GKNB security service spokesman said.

"They stand accused of preparing a violent seizure of power in the country and destabilization of the political situation in the country," he told AFP.

Arrested were People's Parliament leader Bekbolot Talgarbekov, a former agriculture minister, along with former judge Marat Sultanov, and a politician who has previously run for president, Torobay Kolubayev.

The group planned to hold a rally this month on Bishek's central square, the site of two uprisings in 2005 and 2010, and had demanded incumbent President Almazbek Atambaev leave his post before May 17.

Currently three other former politicians from a separate opposition group -- Bektur Asanov, Kubanychbek Kadyrov and Ernest Karybekov -- are awaiting trial on coup charges after they were arrested in March.

The trio had been involved in protests over a range of issues, including government policy regarding the contested state border with neighboring Uzbekistan.

Kyrgyzstan has seen two governments overthrown since it gained independence in 1991.

Based on reporting by RFE/RL Kyrgyz Service, AFP, and Interfax

