Demonstrations erupted after the body of 27-year-old Aizada Kanatbekova was found outside Bishkek. (Photo by=AFP/VYACHESLAV OSELEDKO) |
[Asia News Communication = Reporter Reakkana] On Thursday (Apr 8), hundreds of people rallied in Bishkek, capital of Kyrgyzstan's calling for police chiefs to be fired following a young woman abducted for marriage was found dead in a country where the bride kidnapping is systemic.
AFP reported that police said Wednesday the body of 27-year-old Aizada Kanatbekova was found outside Bishkek two days after security camera footage widely shared on social networks showed her being bundled into a car by three men. Kanatbekova's kidnapper and assumed murderer was also found dead, police said, adding that he had likely committed suicide. One of the other kidnappers was detained by police, state television reported Thursday.
Bride kidnapping, known locally as Ala Kachuu, has roots in the Central Asian country's nomadic past and persisted into the Soviet era, but on a smaller scale. Journalist Mahinur Niyazova, who tweeted a call to rally outside the interior ministry headquarters, told AFP that the murder showed police had other priorities rather than defending women from violence. The rally prompted Prime Minister Ulugbek Maripov to address the protesters. He asked them to "have patience" and promised that everyone associated with the kidnapping would be punished, as several demonstrators shouted at him down and called for his dismissal too. President Sadyr Japarov on Facebook described Kanatbekova's death as "a tragedy and pain not only for her family but also for our entire state".