Kyrgyz President Pushes for Referendum on Death Penalty for Child Rape, Femicide
By Kuban Abdymen
BISHKEK: President Sadyr Japarov has announced that the question of reinstating the death penalty in Kyrgyzstan for the rape of children and for the rape of women resulting in murder will be decided by national referendum.
According to the president, the proposed constitutional amendments will first undergo public discussion and review by the Constitutional Court before being submitted to a popular vote.
Japarov underscored a disturbing rise in crimes against minors, stating: “Unfortunately, inhuman individuals rape and kill children, girls, and women. Such statistics are increasing not only in our country but in many others as well.”
He added that while capital punishment may not eliminate such crimes entirely, it could serve as a powerful deterrent.
The president’s announcement comes in the wake of the brutal killing of 17-year-old Aisuluu whose body was discovered on September 27.
The suspect of Aisuluu’s murder has been detained and a criminal case has been opened, Sultan Makilov, head of the press service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs told at Kabar press conference on October 2.
The case, which has triggered public outcry and sent shockwaves across the country, is being personally overseen by Japarov, presidential press secretary Askat Alagozov confirmed.
“The president received news of this crime with deep regret and has instructed Murat Ukushev, head of the Legal Support Department of the Presidential Administration, to prepare draft amendments providing for the harshest penalties for such offenses,” Alagozov told Kabar News Agency.
The proposed measures specifically target crimes of child rape and the rape-murder of women. Japarov, Alagozov added, is convinced that such crimes “must be punished in the severest way possible.”
Kyrgyzstan has observed a moratorium on capital punishment since 2007. Its reintroduction would require constitutional reform and a decisive mandate from the people.
