Kazakhstan - September 2025

Kazakhstan strengthened the criminal penalty for kidnapping and criminalized forced marriage on 15 September to stamp out the practice of ‘bride kidnapping’. Lawmakers removed language from the criminal code that exempted kidnappers who voluntarily released their victims from criminal liability, which had led to 95 per cent of cases in the last five years closing without penalty. Kidnappers will now face between two and ten years in prison. Instances of forced marriage will now be punished by up to two years in prison, with additional penalties for aggravating circumstances such as the abuse of an official position or the involvement of a minor. While a form of fully consensual ‘bride kidnapping’ has long been practiced in parts of Kazakhstan as a form of marriage, the law is intended to target more modern non-consensual forms, when kidnappers exploit the forms of the tradition and conservative mores to force a woman or girl into marriage.

Sources: Bizim Yol, Kazakhstan Police Media Portal, Soz Media, Wilson Center