The Constitutional Court of Kyrgyzstan has firmly rejected President Sadyr Japarov's initiative to reinstate the death penalty. The presidential administration had previously submitted a draft law to the Constitutional Court aiming to reintroduce capital punishment for severe crimes such as child rape and brutal murders.
Human Rights — A Supreme Value
In an official statement announced by the Constitutional Court, it was noted that the proposed amendment was assessed in terms of its negative impact on the country’s Basic Law (the Constitution).
It was emphasized that Kyrgyzstan’s Constitution enshrines human rights as a supreme value. The protection of human rights forms the cornerstone of the constitutional order. From this perspective, the abolition of the death penalty and the primacy of the right to life hold both legal and ethical significance.
Primacy of International Obligations
The court also referred to international legal norms in its conclusion. According to Kyrgyzstan's Basic Law, universally recognized principles of international law are an integral part of the country’s legal system, and the state is obligated to adhere to them.
According to the court’s decisive conclusion, reinstating the death penalty through constitutional amendments would contradict the Basic Law and is legally impossible. As a result, even the possibility of putting the draft law on the death penalty to a referendum is ruled out. With the enforcement of this Constitutional Court decision, all efforts related to promoting the draft are to cease.
Reason for the Initiative: The Issyk-Kul Tragedy
President Sadyr Japarov's proposal was prompted by a brutal tragedy earlier this October, when a 17-year-old girl named Oysuluu from the Issyk-Kul region was brutally murdered. Reports emerged that she had been abducted, raped, and later killed by a 41-year-old man.
The death penalty was abolished in Kyrgyzstan in 2007. Recently, proposals to bring back capital punishment have sparked widespread public debate amidst a surge in crimes, particularly murders and sexual assaults, targeting minors.
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