Kazakhstan Amends Criminal Code on Forced Marriages

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