Kazakhstan may introduce criminal penalties for bride kidnapping

The deputies of the Kazakh parliament have proposed introducing separate penalties for bride kidnapping into the Criminal Code. These amendments are expected to be adopted in the near future. This was announced by deputy Murat Abenov, Vlast.kz reports.

A new article may be introduced into the Criminal Code

According to Murat Abenov, the proposal is currently being discussed by the working group on optimizing the Criminal, Criminal-Executive and Criminal-Procedural Codes. The new article provides for various penalties depending on the situation:

• Fine and community service;
  
• In serious cases - imprisonment for a term of 3 to 5 years.
  

According to the deputy, if bride kidnapping is committed by a group of individuals, against a minor, or if the victim is harmed, the convicted person may be sentenced to 3-5 years in prison.

"This is not a tradition, it is a crime" - deputy Abenov

Murat Abenov stressed that it is wrong to consider bride kidnapping a "custom".

"In fact, we did not have such traditions. If girls wanted to get married without the consent of their parents, they could run away of their own free will. But bride kidnapping is a serious crime," he said.

There is no specific punishment for bride kidnapping in the current legislation

The Criminal Code of Kazakhstan still does not have a separate article on bride kidnapping. Such cases are considered under the article "Kidnapping". According to it, the accused can be imprisoned for up to 15 years.

At the same time, the legislation contains a clause stating that “a person who voluntarily releases a kidnapped person shall be exempt from punishment if his actions do not constitute another crime.” This may lead to bride kidnappers escaping criminal liability.

If the new law is adopted, it will establish separate criminal liability for bride kidnapping and help prevent such cases. Follow “Zamin” news on “Telegram”