Kyrgyz porn baron Daniel Azhiyev, who ran a “live sex acts” webcam network, was last week slung back in jail after he responded to a presidential pardon by making a grand exit from a penal colony in a helicopter.

Azhiyev, 36, was rearrested after President Sadyr Japarov was engulfed by a public outcry over the immodest manner of his departure from custody. A video of the helicopter, hired by Azhiyev associates from the emergency situations ministry, taking off went viral on Kyrgyz social media. A voiceover states: "This is how Daniel Azhiyev was picked up from prison, by helicopter."

Many Kyrgyz were perplexed when in February it was announced that the former rags-to-riches pornography baron had received a pardon from the president.

Japarov was quoted by Azattyk as reacting to the embarrassing incident by saying he had no idea that a helicopter would be used following the prison release.

"I, too, was confused as soon as I heard about it. His mother was crying, saying [in her appeal for the pardon] that they [Azhiyev’s family] were left with nothing, then her son was ordering a helicopter straight from prison.

“My first thought was that I'd been tricked. You see, many take advantage of my kindness and gentleness, but it doesn't last long. As the saying goes, when a soft person becomes hard, it's for ever."

Japarov was also quoted as describing how Azhiyev’s mother obtained his WhatsApp contact information, called him and, on a video call, begged him to pardon her son, promising that he would behave like a modest and upstanding citizen. She also, said Japarov, claimed all the family's property had been confiscated and that Azhiyev’s wife and three children, one of whom has disabilities, were impoverished.

Added Japarov: "I'm a compassionate person. I truly believed her and pardoned him. And not just Azhiyev. That day, a total of 75 convicted people were pardoned. Then I received information that Azhiyev was leaving prison in a helicopter. I immediately ordered the helicopter to return. Azhiyev ultimately left for home by car. The information that he had left in a helicopter was indeed true. However, within 15 minutes, we turned the helicopter around."

The commentary on social media in response to the viral video, as relayed by Azattyk, was scathing.

"They're in poverty? How can you charter a helicopter for 300,000 [300,000 Kyrgyzstani som, or $3,430] while sitting in prison?" Indira Ickakova wrote on Facebook.

"The president says he was deceived in the Azhiyev case. Does that mean his case for a pardon needs to be reviewed? Or is the decision already made final?" read a social media post from “Tima”.

"It's so surreal: a mother found the president's WhatsApp and begged for clemency for a pimp son whose children are starving. But they could order a helicopter to the prison to deliver the guy home to the starving family," Mira Amira posted.

Azhiyev had served only two years of his nine-year sentence prior to receiving the pardon.

From his webcam studios, scenes of women performing sex sequences online were streamed to foreign users.

The State Committee for National Security (GKNB) said Azhiyev managed an international network of more than 300 sex webcam operators generating approximately $300,000 per month in revenues.

Azhiyev lived a luxurious life and often posted photos on social media from fashionable resorts, where he struck poses for the camera in expensive designer clothing. A rising star as an influencer, he was not averse to bragging about his fortunes and innovation in comparison to the lot of the ordinary Kyrgyz citizen.

Made a wanted man by the authorities, in 2023, he was detained in Uzbekistan while attempting to fly to Dubai.

Relatives have at various times, in pleading for clemency, said he suffers psychiatric problems and has spent time in a psychiatric clinic.

On March 6, following the helicopter scandal and furore, local media said he had been detained in Tokmok in northern Kyrgyzstan, where he was vacationing with friends. Preliminary reports indicated that drugs were found during a search of his person.