The first case of violating prohibition of kidnapping brides registered in Chechnya

The prohibition of kidnapping brides recently established in Chechnya has been violated. On October, 28, a nineteen-year-old young man kidnapped a fourteen-year-old schoolgirl for marriage. The kidnapper may be sentenced to imprisonment and his family will possibly be fined for one million rubles. Commenting on the incident local residents express an opinion that the custom of kidnapping brides will hardly be eradicated in the republic.

"Yesterday in one of the villages of Nozhai-Yurt district two nineteen-year-old guys kidnapped a fourteen-year-old girl, pupil of the eighth form of local school. The guys came up to the school in a car, one of them, the fiance, stayed at the wheel and the other awaited until the girl comes out and forced her into the car. Then the kidnappers drove away", a source in law enforcement bodies of the republic said to a reporter of "Caucasian Knot".

According to the source, the teachers and a lot of eyewitnesses of the incident memorized the number of the car and reported it to militia and the girl's parents. The district militia officer found the car with the kidnappers in it near a filling station but at his attempt of detention they ran away leaving the car behind. 

"Nevertheless, later on the unlucky fiance and his buddy were detained and put in the detention centre", our interlocutor says.

He remarked that the detained may get a penalty of twelve years of imprisonment for kidnapping their fellow villager, the more so, an under age one. "Besides, the "fiance's" family will now have to pay the girl's relations a penalty of one million rubles in accordance with the decision recently taken by the authorities of the republic and the clergy", our interlocutor said.

Several weeks ago Ramzan Kadyrov, President of Chechnya, declared that it was necessary to prohibit the custom of kidnapping brides in the republic which had existed in Chechnya for several hundred years. A special SMS-voting was held in the republic on the matter and as a result 99% respondents voted for prohibition of kidnapping brides.

On October, 1, this year, Kadyrov announced that the penalty sum for kidnapping brides for marriage in Chechnya would be increased from one thousand dollars to one million rubles (about 35 thousand dollars). The President of Chechnya also warned that from the moment on the clauses of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation establishing responsibility for kidnapping would also be applied to kidnappers of brides which may result in a twenty-year term of imprisonment for those guilty.

However, some local residents consider that applying criminal punishment to the persons involved in kidnapping a girl for marriage is an excessive measure.