Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov has ordered the drafting of legislation to reinstate the death penalty for the most serious crimes against children and women, following national outrage over the murder of a teenage girl.
The presidential press office announced that Japarov has instructed Murat Ukushev, head of legal affairs in the presidential administration, to prepare amendments making the rape of minors, and rape followed by murder, punishable by death.
The move is significant given that Kyrgyzstan abolished capital punishment in law in 2007.
In a statement published on Facebook, presidential spokesman Askhat Alagozov referred to the “brutal murder” of a young girl named Aisuluu, noting the wave of public anger the case provoked. “Crimes committed against children and women should not go unpunished,” he wrote, adding that Japarov has taken personal responsibility for ensuring legal and law enforcement reforms.
In neighboring Uzbekistan, lawmakers have also moved to tighten penalties for crimes involving minors. The Uzbek Senate recently approved a law raising the minimum age of criminal responsibility from 13 to 14, while also lengthening prison terms for sexual offenses involving children. In March, a bill was proposed to criminalize the possession of child pornography.
Japarov’s push to reintroduce the death penalty marks a sharp break from the region’s general move toward abolition. Uzbekistan ended executions in 1999, and Kyrgyzstan formally codified its abolition in 2007, according to the Asia-Pacific Human Rights Information Center.
