Kyrgyz MP proposes a prison sentence up to 10 years for bride kidnapping

“Every year about 15 thousand girls are kidnapped in Kyrgyzstan,” MP Ainuru Altybayeva stated at today’s session of the parliamentary Committee on Legality, Law and Order and Crime Fighting.

According to her, these girls may be potential victims of a tradition. “A bill that toughens penalties for those who kidnap or intend kidnapping young girls is proposed for this. It is proposed to reclassify the abduction of girls from less serious crime for a grave crime with punishment up to 10 years of imprisonment,” Ainuru Altybayeva said.

Deputy Dastan Bekeshev noted that the country’s Criminal Code has an omission when the theft of livestock is classified as a serious offense, but kidnapping or rather bride kidnapping as less serious.

However, the Committee’s chairman Myktybek Abdyldayev said that Kyrgyzstan promised the international community to humanize the Criminal and Criminal Procedure Codes. “Now we only toughen them. Such a policy may lead to contradictions with our obligations,” he added.

Finally the Committee adopted the bill at the first reading.