Bat Khurts

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Bat Khurts is a Mongolian security official who has led several top agencies. He was the director of Mongolia’s General Intelligence Agency (GIA) from 2014 to 2017, and he also headed the Executive Office of the Mongolian National Security Council and the Independent Authority against Corruption (ATG).

In September 2010, Khurts traveled to London and was arrested under a European Arrest Warrant issued by Germany. He was held in Wandsworth Prison, and Mongolia accused the UK of luring him to London to be arrested.

Khurts faced charges related to the alleged kidnapping and torture of Enkhbat Damiran, a Mongolian who had sought asylum in France. Damiran was allegedly kidnapped in Le Havre in 2003, taken to Brussels, then flown to Mongolia, where he was tortured to confess to the murder of the well-known politician Zorig Sanjaasürengiin. He was registered as a GIA informant later, and the events included forced sitting on a stool for hours, beating, and a mock execution.

Mongolia apologized to France, Germany, and Belgium for the incident. Khurts’ arrest caused tensions between Mongolia and the United Kingdom and was described as a diplomatic dispute.

Khurts was extradited to Germany in 2011 on charges of abduction. In September 2011, the charges were dropped, three weeks before German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s visit to Mongolia, and Khurts was released and returned to Mongolia.