Three residents of Dagestan detained on suspicion of bride abduction

Three men abducted a 22-year-old girl, took her to Derbent and kept her in an apartment for 24 hours, demanding her consent to marry one of them, investigators have suggested.

According to investigators, on August 5, three residents of the Magaramkent District drove home to a 22-year-old girl from the village of Gazardkam. Having previously agreed among themselves, they forced her into a car and took her to Derbent, the press service of the Investigating Department (ID) for Dagestan of the Investigating Committee of the Russian Federation (ICRF).

"In the apartment of one of the suspects, they held the victim for almost 24 hours <...>. During this period, the men tried to force the girl to agree to marry one of the abductors," said a message posted on August 7 on the website of the ID for Dagestan of the ICRF.

On August 6, law enforcers returned the girl to her parents; and the suspects were detained.

Let us remind you that the custom of bride abduction remains quite widespread in Northern Caucasus, the human rights defenders interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" stated in July 2019. Dagestan is one of the regions where such cases occur most often.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on August 8, 2020 at 08:02 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.