First case on bride abduction initiated in Chechnya

The first criminal case, after the authorities introduced a ban on bride abduction, has been initiated in Chechnya on the fact of abducting a woman with the aim to force her into marriage. However, the case is unusual: a man abducted his ex-wife.

The Gudermes Investigatory Department opened a criminal case against a 38-year-old resident of Grozny under the article of "kidnapping by a group of persons by previous concert". As it turned out, the kidnapped woman was his wife, with whom he divorced a year ago.

According to the investigation, on October 22, the young man, helped by his accomplices, forced the woman into a car, brought from Gudermes, where she lived, to Grozny, and held for several hours in his apartment. Then, she managed to escape and report about the incident, the "Interfax" reports.

The former spouses have a daughter, who was reared by her mother. The suffered party asserts that the husband's addiction to alcohol was the reason for the divorce. During the interrogation, the former husband swore of his love to his wife.

Under the law, the kidnapper may get up to 15 years of imprisonment, the RIA "Novosti" reports.