This initiative emerged in light of the murder of 17-year-old Aysulu, which occurred on September 27, 2025.
President Sadyr Japarov instructed the administration of the President of the Kyrgyz Republic and the Jogorku Kenesh to develop amendments to the Criminal Code that would provide for the death penalty for violence against women and the rape of children.
However, human rights and international organizations have expressed their protest against this initiative.
It is worth noting that the death penalty was in effect in Kyrgyzstan until 1998, when a moratorium was introduced, and it was completely abolished in 2007. Since statistics on the death penalty were considered state secrets, the exact number of such sentences in the 1990s remains unknown. However, human rights defenders collected information, and some cases remain in the memory of lawyers.
Lawyer Usenbaev told Kaktus.media that in the 1990s he worked as a public defender and encountered death sentences three times. In two cases, the sentences were carried out, but in one case, he managed to achieve a review.
The Case of Nikolai S.
According to Amnesty International, Nikolai S. was sentenced to death by the Chui Regional Court on April 22, 1996, for intentional murder and attempted murder.As lawyer Usenbaev noted, he joined the case at the stage of consideration in the Bishkek City Court. The accused had previous convictions for robbery, and at that time, cases were considered directly by the second instance court.
“I was informed that a death sentence would be imposed since the victim was the son of the deputy chairman of the Bishkek City Court. Nevertheless, I continued my work. It is important to note that the murder weapon was not a spatula, but a fastening for wooden frames, which was presented as the weapon,” he recalls.
Usenbaev emphasized that the sentence was based on confessions given under duress, and the Supreme Court of the Kyrgyz Republic upheld the decision.
“The defendant confessed under torture,” shares the lawyer.Nikolai's sister, disagreeing with the sentence, sought help from a lawyer, and they filed a petition for a review of the case, but the court rejected it. The lawyer also drafted a petition for clemency.
“These documents Nikolai had to sign himself,” the lawyer recounts. “I went to see him in the death row cell. Before the visit, I bought him a Bible. Essentially, I was going to say goodbye to him.”
Nikolai's sister, having exhausted all internal options, turned to Amnesty International in London. This action yielded results. Amnesty International contacted the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kyrgyzstan, and the ministry reached out to the lawyer.
“I went to the ministry and shared all the details of the case. As a result, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent a request for a review of the case to the Supreme Court. At that time, there was still a practice of reviewing such cases by the plenum. Ultimately, the death penalty was replaced with 14 years,” noted the lawyer.
Nikolai S. was serving his sentence in a colony in Novopokrovka, and in 2003 or 2004, he wrote to his lawyer requesting a meeting. Usenbaev agreed.
“I went to see him; he had already served 8 years of his 14-year sentence. He invited me to the colony to tell me about that evening that changed his life. Nikolai said that in the colony he met a fellow villager who claimed to know who actually committed the murder. However, it was impossible to prove this,” he concludes.
After that, lawyer Usenbaev heard nothing more about Nikolai S.
“I am against the death penalty, as it is not a solution to the problem of crime. Each crime should be considered individually,” sums up the lawyer.
