More than 20 percent of brides kidnapped for marriage in Kyrgyzstan

More than 20 percent of brides in Kyrgyzstan are kidnapped for marriage (with or without consent). Special report of the Ombudsman «Access to Justice: Main Problems» says.

According to human rights activists, kidnapping of a woman for marriage in rural areas occurs almost twice as often as in urban areas.

Studies indicate that over two-thirds of the adult population of the republic (65 percent of women and almost 70 percent of men) means religious rituals by marriage: nikah for Muslims and church wedding for Christians, which do not produce any legal consequences of marriage.

According to Article 155 of the Criminal Code of the Kyrgyz Republic, kidnapping of a woman for marriage against her will is punishable by imprisonment for a term from five to seven years.