21:49, 9 March 2020

Three Georgian residents detained for kidnapping a bride

With the help of his two friends, a resident of Georgia kidnapped a 19-year-old girl to marry against her will, the law enforcement bodies suggest.

According to the police, a 29-year-old man kidnapped a 19-year-old resident of the Ninotsminda District to marry against her will. With the help of his two 25-year-old friends, the man forced the girl into his car and took her away to some unknown destination, the "News-Georgia" reports with reference to the press service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) of Georgia.

The case is being investigated under the article on unlawful deprivation of liberty committed by a group of persons in a preliminary conspiracy, providing for 7-10 years of imprisonment, the Georgian MIA reports on its official website.

The custom of bride kidnapping is wide spread in both Southern and Northern Caucasus. Most often, a kidnapping is caused by economic difficulties: relatives of a girl and a young man may agree on the kidnapping in order to save money to be spent for wedding party ceremonies. However, cases of kidnappings often occur without the girl's consent.

Let us add that on February 14, according to the police, in the centre of Marneuli, four young people forced a 17-year-old girl into their car and took her away to some unknown destination. Eyewitnesses said that the girl was kidnapped when she was returning from training courses. According to the eyewitnesses, the girl was trying to resist the kidnappers, and they put a plastic bag on her head. "The girl cried for help, but no one helped her," noted Ombudsperson Nino Lomdjariya. The law enforcement bodies detained a suspect, a resident of the Kvemo Kartli region, and the girl was returned home.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on March 9, 2020 at 12:36 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.