Kazakhstan Amends Criminal Code on Forced Marriages
Photo: Fishki.net, ill. purposes
Amendments have been made to Article 125 of the Criminal Code, excluding the possibility of terminating a case if the victim of abduction or coercion is released voluntarily, Orda.kz reports.
Earlier, Kazakhstan tightened penalties for forced marriage by introducing a separate criminal article for it.
According to the Prosecutor General’s Office, 257 criminal cases related to forced marriage were registered in the last five years, but 95% of them were dismissed.
The new law aims to change that. Any coercion — through threats, blackmail, pressure, or physical and psychological violence — is now a criminal offense punishable by up to two years in prison. If such coercion leads to severe consequences, the sentence can reach ten years.
In most countries, forced marriage is a severe crime because it can involve isolation, violence, and even suicide attempts by the victim. In some countries, forced marriage is recognized as a form of human trafficking, the Prosecutor General’s Office noted.
In addition, cases of abducting a woman for forced marriage cannot be dropped even if she is later released.
Such acts will now be classified under Articles 125 and 125-1 of the Criminal Code.
Original Author: Ayanrafi Narikbayeva
Latest news
- Almaty Drivers Offered Free Emissions Checks Without Penalties
- Croatia Will Finance Oil Exploration In Aktobe Region
- Half of Kazakhstanis Earn Less Than $1,000 a Month
- Is The Era Of Easy Extraction Over? Resource Development Is Being Rebuilt In Kazakhstan
- How a Kazakhstani Tried to Change His Ethnicity Through the Courts — and What Came of It
- Economist Names Kazakhstan Regions Lagging in Investment Transparency
- 14-Year-Old In Tesla Tries To Flee Police In Astana
- When a Michelin-Recognized Restaurant Will Open in Almaty, Akimat Says
- Transfers To China From Kazakhstan Fall To Six-Year Low
- Chinese Company To Build $1.2 Billion Steel Plant In Kazakhstan
- Moldova Finally Leaves The CIS And Bets On The EU
- Kazakhstani Scientists Develop Feed From Meat Processing Waste
- Why Large Families Face the Highest Poverty Risk in Kazakhstan
- Kazakhstan Schoolboy First in Central Asia to Receive Google Grant
- Kazakhstan Prosecutor General’s Office Checks Possible Ties Between Officials and Epstein Case
- After Farmers' Complaints, Kazakhstan Changes Potato Trading Rules
- Officials Accused Of Legalizing Thousands Of Migrants For Bribes In Astana
- Almaty Zoo Names Triplet Tiger Cubs
- Only One Loss-Making Bank Remains In Kazakhstan
- Cormorants To Be Shot In Pavlodar Region
