Initiated amendments to Kyrgyz Constitution allow death penalty for sexual violence against children

BISHKEK. Oct 20 (Interfax) - Members of the Kyrgyz parliament have initiated constitutional amendments that envisage the death penalty for sexual violence against children, the Kyrgyz parliamentary press service said on Thursday.

"Sixty-one members [of a 90-seat parliament] are initiating amendments to the constitution. The draft document was submitted for public debate. The current draft bill on changes to the constitution of the Kyrgyz Republic was worked out to protect the life and health of children from criminal encroachments," the press service said.

According to the press service, it is planned to amend Part 1 of Article 25 of the constitution as follows, "Every person has an unalienable right to life. Encroachments on a person's life and health are unacceptable. No one can arbitrarily be deprived of life. The death penalty can be introduced by law only for sexual crimes against children under the age of eighteen."

According to a memo attached to the draft amendments, the number of extremely grave crimes against children, including sexual violence, grew in Kyrgyzstan. Investigators recorded 35 rapes, including 15 of children under 14 and 20 of children aged 14-18, in the first eight months of 2022. Twenty-five instances of sexual violence against children were also recorded in the reporting period.

"Since sexual crimes against children are on the rise, it is proposed to envisage the death penalty as a specific measure of punishment in the constitution," the document said.