The Kyrgyz Constitutional Court is examining a bill to restore the death penalty, supported by President Sadyr Dzaparov. The proposal has sparked debates about human rights in the country.
The Kyrgyz Constitutional Court began examining a draft law on resuming executions on Wednesday. President Sadyr Dzaparov supports the re-introduction of the death penalty, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk opposes it, TASR reports, according to an AFP report.
According to the bill, people could receive the death penalty for “particularly serious sexual crimes committed against children” and for “murders committed together with rape.”
Court decision on the proposal
If the court rules on compliance with the constitution, the bill will return to parliament to hold a referendum on amending Article 25 of the constitution, Dzaparov said in October. Currently, it is not known when the Constitutional Court will decide on the matter.
The president proposed reintroducing the death penalty after a 17-year-old girl was raped and then murdered in Kyrgyzstan in September. The case sparked outrage in the country of seven million people.
History of executions in the country
The last execution in Kyrgyzstan was carried out in 1998, the death penalty itself was abolished in 2007. Kyrgyzstan was considered one of the most democratic post-Soviet countries in Central Asia, but several human rights groups condemned the worsening conditions in the country after 2021, when Dzhaparov became president, writes AFP.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said in October that resuming executions in Kyrgyzstan would be a “serious violation of international law”. Human rights groups in the country said the country needs to improve criminal investigations and police training.
