BISHKEK, Jan 4 (Reuters) - A British employee of
Kyrgyzstan's biggest gold mine, detained by police after
comparing a national dish to a horse penis, was told on Monday
to leave the country within 24 hours for working without an
official permit.
Michael Mcfeat posted a comment on Facebook (O:FB) saying that his
Kyrgyz colleagues were queuing for their "special delicacy, the
horse's penis" at New Year celebrations, sparking a brief strike
at the Kumtor mine as well as calls for criminal prosecution.
The dish in question, chuchuk, is a sausage made from horse
meat and intestines.
Police detained Mcfeat on Sunday for questioning but the
state security service only gave him a warning despite workers
insisting that his actions constituted inciting hatred, a crime
punishable by three to five years in prison.
A local court found that Mcfeat, who worked as a welder for
a contractor at Kumtor, had no work permit and ruled that he
must be deported within 24 hours.
The mine is at the centre of a dispute between the
government and Canada's Centerra Gold CG.TO .