How screaming schoolgirls are bundled into cars, raped & forced to marry strangers by gangs in sick brideknapping ritual
Just feet away, locals carry on with their days, ignoring the waning cries of the terrified teenager as she's driven away from her family and friends to become a stranger's bride.
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More than 10,000 women and girls are thought to be victims of the practice every year
Credit: Youtube/VICE
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Protestors in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, hold signs demanding the resignation of the interior ministry's leadership following the murder of a kidnapped bride
Credit: Reuters
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The moment a visibly distraught schoolgirl is abducted from her family to marry her abductor
Credit: Youtube/VICE
This is
While many of these traumatised brides are beaten, raped, or put to work as slaves for their new in-laws, some are strangled or stabbed to death for refusing to accept their fate.
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Others, tragically, are driven to suicide.
'I felt awful pressure from all sides,' recalled one 18-year-old
survivor
of bride kidnapping. 'I had horrible depression, and I decided to die.'
Kyrgyzstan, a landlocked country
next
to
China
, is considered a 'bucket list' destination for British
travellers
- with one English aristocrat recently gushing about her 'adoration' for it.
'It's where I feel the most alive, with each day lived so simply and deeply embedded in the most beautiful landscapes,' Countess Alexandra Tolstoy posted on
last month.
Yet the country's stunning mountain ranges, jaw-dropping glaciers and popular hiking trails mask a disturbing practice that has been justified by locals for decades as 'a tradition'.
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The Sun has taken the decision to publish these distressing images as experts warn the plight of women in Kyrgyzstan desperately needs highlighting.
Legal expert John McRay, of
"Victims can be too afraid to speak out, and communities too quick to look the other way.'
10,000 stolen girls
The practice of 'ala kachuu' - which roughly translates as "grab and run' - occurs in as many as half of Kyrgyz marriages, with supporters claiming a girl 'becomes happy through tears'.
More than 10,000 women and girls are thought to be targeted by the practice every year, with many forced to abandon both their career dreams and loving
relationships
.
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Experts have likened the actions of their abductors to those of UK-based grooming
gangs
- and are now warning that similar crimes are on the rise here.
Horrifying video of woman being kidnapped by man intending to force her to marry sparks outrage in Russia
'Men [in Kyrgyzstan] will literally grab a young girl and run off with them, sometimes taking them from their school,' top UK criminal defence lawyer, Marcus Johnstone, tells The Sun.
'They are forced into
marriage
. They are raped and, as a result, cannot usually return to normal society because of the stigma.'
I am seeing an increase in similar crimes in the UK as more and more towns around the country descend into chaos
Marcus Johnstone, top UK criminal defence lawyer
Marcus, who specialises in sex
crime
for Cheshire-based
In rural Kyrgyz kidnappings, the groom first identifies a bride. This might be a girl he knows and desires - even if she has a boyfriend - or a stranger he's eyed up in the street.
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Next
, the groom and his pals carefully plot the abduction of the girl. In some cases, they recruit a friend of their unsuspecting victim to lure her to a specific place, at a specific time.
Finally, the gang kicks off the abduction, stalking the girl in a car until they can grab her.
'Hold her feet down'
Harrowing
documentary
footage,
'Our
hearts
are pounding,' remarks one of the men.
The teen - who had dreamed of becoming a lawyer - shrieks, 'Let me go,' as she's shoved into the car then pinned down by the men, who keep her away from
the open
window.
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The practice of 'ala kachuu' - which roughly translates as 'grab and run' - occurs in as many as half of Kyrgyz marriages
Credit: Youtube/VICE
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Harrowing documentary footage, filmed by VICE, shows one kidnapping gang blasting out tunes and laughing about their nerves as they prepare to snatch a schoolgirl
Credit: Youtube/VICE
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'Hold her feet down,' one man orders his friend.
The scene could be straight from a
horror
film
, but it's a far-from-rare reality in Kyrgyzstan, which became independent following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
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Another kidnapping victim, called Elmira, was just 17 when she was grabbed by 'five or six' booze-fuelled men, forced into a car, and driven two hours away from her home.
'I didn't have a choice, there were so many of them and I didn't have the strength to fight them off,' she bravely told the international
charity
,
She added: 'The men were all drunk. I didn't know a single one of them.
'I only saw my 'husband' on the fourth day after being kidnapped.'
Supporters of bride kidnappings claim that Kyrgyz girls are willing to be abducted: that their distress is simply a 'show' because they don't want to appear desperate to marry.
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The girls know that saying 'no' is considered innocent and pure, the supporters allege.
I didn't have a choice, there were so many of them and I didn't have the strength to fight them off.
Kidnapping victim Elmira
But another
survivor
, Feruza, insisted: 'I had never seen this man before and I didn't want to marry him. I didn't like it and I said, 'I don't want to live with you and I don't know you'.'
After being snatched off the street, girls are typically taken to see the groom's female relatives - who isolate them from their own family and pressure them into marrying.
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Kidnapper Madiev Tynchtyk and his bride Ormonova Elmira
Credit: Youtube/VICE
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Defending the ongoing practice, one self-confessed kidnapper, Madiev said: "We are Kyrgyz. It's a tradition, it's in our blood"
Credit: Youtube/VICE
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'Calm down, honey,' says an older woman in the VICE
documentary
, while trying to force a white bridal scarf around the shoulders of the visibly distraught schoolgirl.
'You will be happy,' the woman promises her.
Eventually, the broken teen agrees to marry the man.
Such acceptance is hardly surprising, given the vulnerable position of kidnapping victims.
Driven miles away from their hometowns, many girls don't know where they are.
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'CURSE' THREAT
They might be banned from contacting their own families, threatened with 'curses' - which, living in a deeply superstitious country, they believe - and restrained on the ground.
Others suffer sickening assaults at the hands of their abductors.
'He forced me to have sex with him the first night,' recalled Feruza, who, aged 17, was allegedly forced to lie to her parents that her abduction for
marriage
was voluntary.
'A woman came to say that they'd prepare my bed; I thought I'd be alone.
'I lay down to
sleep
, then he came in and he forced himself on me and raped me.
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'I was saying no and he still did it. I cried and screamed.'
Heartbreakingly, girls like Feruza are viewed as 'ruined' once they've been raped.
Blamed for 'disgracing' their entire families, they are often rejected by their parents.
Even those who are not sexually assaulted are considered shameful and 'tainted' after spending the night in their kidnapper's home - with their virginity brought into question.
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Kidnapping survivor Aisuluu said: "It stays with you for the rest of your life"
Credit: Unicef
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'The woman, having 'dishonored' her family by spending the night in another man's house, faces overwhelming social pressure to marry him,' Irina Tsukerman, a New York-based
human rights
and national security lawyer, tells The Sun. 'Even if she manages to escape, she risks being ostracized or branded as 'damaged goods'.'
In the hours that follow a kidnapping, a Muslim cleric typically marries the couple, a wedding feast is held, and the men involved in the abduction visit the home of the bride's family.
Armed with gifts like vodka, food and cattle, they offer an apology for the kidnapping.
But no apology can make up for what some brides go on to endure.
One kidnapping victim, living in a remote village in Kyrgyzstan, spent a month in hospital after her abusive husband battered her on the forehead with a metal mug.
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'My husband said, 'If you tell the truth, when you come out of the hospital I will kill you',' the woman told HRW, adding that she was left fearing for both her and her children's lives.
Other survivors recalled years of merciless beatings, while some described how their in-laws treated them as unpaid servants and followed them around the house - even to the toilet.
And for a tragic few, bride kidnapping proves fatal.
Merciless beatings
In 2022, a 13-year-old kidnapping and sexual abuse survivor died by suicide.
A year earlier, Aizada Kanatbekova, 27, was found strangled to death in an abandoned car outside the Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek, just days after being abducted by a gang of men.
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And in 2018, medical student Burulai Turdaaly Kyzy, 20, was stabbed to death by her kidnapper at a
police
station, after officers left the pair alone together in a room.
Her killer was jailed for 20 years, while 23 officers were punished for neglect.
Fortunately, some women and girls manage to escape their kidnappers, either shortly after their abduction or years down the line. Others insist they are happily married to them.
One survivor, called Aisuluu, now in her 40s, has gone on to become an international trainer and coach. But despite her career success, Aisuluu
The United Nations regards forced marriage, of any kind, as a human rights violation.
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My husband said, 'If you tell the truth, when you come out of the hospital I will kill you'
Kidnapping victim
According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), an estimated 22million people globally were living in a forced marriage at any moment in time in 2021 - a shocking increase of 6.6million in just five years.
But the organisation warns: 'The true incidence of forced marriage, particularly involving children aged 16 and younger, is likely far greater than current estimates can capture.'
While bride kidnapping is officially a
crime
in Kyrgyzstan, charities and experts claim that men continue to abduct girls with impunity in parts of the country. Convictions are rare, victims are often afraid to speak out, and the phrase 'ancient tradition' is used as an excuse.
'Bride kidnapping in Kyrgyzstan isn't just a relic of the past - it's an abuse of
power
that thrives under the guise of tradition,' says Irina, president of Scarab Rising.
But defending the ongoing practice, one self-confessed kidnapper, Madiev Tynchtyk, told VICE: 'We are Kyrgyz. It's a tradition, it's in our blood. Yes, we are breaking the
law
, but here everybody understands this [is] a tradition and you can't change it.'
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However, recalling the start of their marriage, Tynchtyk's victim said: 'When we met the first time, I remember he asked me, 'Should I send my parents or should I just kidnap you?'
'I replied, 'Don't do it, I have a boyfriend.'
'And the second time we met, he just kidnapped me.'
Even Kyrgyz
police
officers have spoken out in favour of bride kidnapping.
In an interview with HRW in 2005, one senior cop claimed: 'Abduction, it's just called this. Ninety-nine percent of women agree to the kidnapping. I kidnapped my wife.'
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Londoner Kate Woodley, 25, owner of adventure travel company Stay Wild Travel, didn't find out about the kidnappings until speaking to locals
Credit: Supplied
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Marcus Johnstone, who specialises in sex crime for Cheshire-based PCD Solicitors warns of similar crimes increasing in the UK
Credit: Supplied
But while locals don't blink an eye at the so-called tradition, many tourists are oblivious to it.
Londoner Kate Woodley tells us: 'People from Kyrgyzstan are some of the friendliest that I've met, so it's hard to imagine that bride kidnappings are still going on in the background.'
Kate, 25, a content creator and owner of adventure travel company
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'I've travelled to nearly 60 countries, and Kyrgyzstan is one of the safest I've visited. People are incredibly friendly and helpful, without ever overstepping my boundaries,' she says.
Describing the republic as 'an adventure traveller's dream with abundant hiking opportunities, mountains rising over 7,000m and hidden alpine lakes', she adds: 'I didn't know about the bride kidnappings before arriving in Kyrgyzstan.
'You don't see much in the
news
about Kyrgyzstan or Central Asia in general, so it wasn't until I was speaking to a local friend about life here that I found out about it. She told me that it's no longer common in cities like Bishkek, but it is still a problem in more rural areas.'
Terrified of being abducted, some girls are reportedly fleeing Kyrgyzstan altogether.
Taking to
two years ago, one social media user wrote: 'I personally have two female friends from high school who left the country as soon as they turned 18.
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'Kyrgyzstan is hell for women.'
The country is not the only hotspot for bride-kidnapping -
Mexico
,
Russia
,
China
, Kazakhstan, and the former Soviet republic of
Georgia
, too.
My daughter was kidnapped in the village where we live. For three months, she struggled with that life and finally she committed suicide.
Heartbroken mother of victim
One British traveller, called
Chloe
, tells us a driver in
Georgia
made a disturbing 'joke' to her last
summer
, telling her: 'If I were 20 years younger, I'd kidnap you'.
'We laughed it off at the time but after me and my friend - also a younger woman - left, I quickly felt very weird about it,' recalls
Chloe
.
But why do aspiring grooms resort to kidnappings in the first place?
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Suggested reasons include a twisted reaction to 'love at first sight', a bet between friends, a fear of rejection, the groom's desire to assert his
power
, a way to avoid paying a 'kalym' (bride price), and the groom facing greater-than-normal challenges in finding a wife.
According to HRW, men who are mentally or physically ill, or have criminal records, are seen as 'socially tainted'. Therefore, some view kidnapping as a guaranteed way to secure a wife.
'I eventually learned that my husband had been diagnosed [as] a schizophrenic,' Elmira, who was allegedly beaten for years by her abductor, told the charity.
'When I found this out was when I decided that I must leave him.'
Whatever the excuse for bride kidnapping, one thing is certain: the crime affects not just the women and girls who are hauled off the street, but their devastated families, too.
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'My daughter was kidnapped in the village where we live,' said one heartbroken mother.
'For three months, she struggled with that life and finally she committed suicide.
'What do we have now? Nothing but sorrow.'
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The Irish Sun
an hour ago
- The Irish Sun
I busted county lines gang that exports school kids like slaves…I've seen desperate kids leap from windows
AFTER bashing down the door to a drug den on the third floor of a tower block, police officers were surprised to see a window open and a burner phone on the ledge. One of the 17-year-old 12 Jamal Andall was jailed for trafficking a child across county lines Credit: Channel 4 12 Dealers threaten to 'rub out' school children they've recruited in chilling texts Credit: Channel 4 12 An arrest following a raid on a drug den in Dunstable, Bedfordshire Credit: Channel 4 They were shocked to see the youngster survived the potentially fatal leap - but he didn't get away. The savvy officers were able to track him down and the mobile device led them to the kingpin behind an extensive county lines network. But a new episode of Channel 4's Gary Hales, an investigating officer from Bedfordshire Police's Boson guns and gangs unit at the time of the arrests, tells The Sun: 'When you are going into a top floor flat you don't expect someone to be jumping out of the window. Read More in The Sun "It was amazing he didn't break his legs. 'There is fear. A way the gangs keep these children street dealing is to threaten them and show a bit of force. 'When you are on a lower rung, you have the elders threatening you, you are around the knives, you are around the violence that goes on.' In the show, which airs on Sunday at 9pm, we see some of the messages sent to a 15-year-old boy called Gavin, not his real name, who has been roped in by the ruthless criminals. Most read in The Sun There are threats to stab his mum, including 'wil shank up u mum'. Officers believe that Gavin has been told he has a drug debt and constantly has to work to pay it off otherwise they will face violent consequences. Police start huge crackdown against county lines gangs ruining teenage lives They will be told, 'Where is the rest of the money? You had more drugs.' In fact the teenagers haven't lost any drugs, they are just being told they have in order to keep them in debt. Adult mob members recruit school children because they are less likely to be sent to prison due to their age. Gavin's mum has called the police in a desperate state, because he keeps going missing, sometimes for 10 days at a time. The police suspect he is being sent around various 'trap houses', an American term for a drug den, in different English counties. 'Saturated' Luton has become so 'saturated' with drug lines that dealers send children far afield. Gary says: 'In terms of drug lines there are over 100 listed that are Bedfordshire based. "But then you have county lines going to places like Essex and London trying to muscle in. Luton is exporting drug deal lines to places where they are not known to police. We have rescued children from Swindon Gary Hales 'Luton is exporting drug deal lines to places where they are not known to police. We have rescued children from Swindon. 'Drug lines in Luton are saturated, they are known to police.' Access to Gavin's phone leads the detectives to the flat in Dunstable which is part of a network selling class A drugs including crack cocaine. Inside the flat is a 14-year-old boy, who has also been recruited by the county lines gangs. The flat is rented by a 23-year-old former heroin addict who says he allows the dealers to use his property because he doesn't want 'to get my head kicked in'. He warns: 'Drugs get you involved with stupid people.' Criminal control 12 Investigating officer Gary Hales helped track down the adult gangsters Credit: Channel 4 12 Drugs were found in Andall's car Credit: Channel 4 12 Luton in Bedfordshire is exporting drug dealers to other counties Credit: Alamy The pay as you go burner phone found on the window ledge has been topped up in various shops. By studying the CCTV of those businesses, the police are able to identify an adult higher up in the operation. When they arrest Jamal Andall in 2020 they find more burner phones and SIM cards in his home, plus crack rocks in his Ford Focus car. After being questioned, Andall is told he has been given bail and can go home. But the gangster says: 'I'm not walking home. It's not safe around here. I've been shot. I've been stabbed.' Remarkably, the police accede to his request and agree to drive him home. It's not safe around here. I've been shot. I've been stabbed Jamal Andall Andall and his fellow drug dealer Alex Anderson, both 30, became the first members of a county lines gang to be convicted of modern slavery offences by Bedfordshire Police. In February last year Andall was jailed for seven years for being concerned in the supply of heroin, with Anderson receiving six years and four months for the same offence. They were also sentenced to six years for exploitation and three years for being concerned in the supply of cocaine, but those will be served concurrently. The court heard that the two men trafficked a 15-year-old boy from Bedfordshire to Lowestoft in Suffolk, where officers found the boy with £3,000 worth of crack cocaine. Saving the 'lost boys' 12 Jamal Andall (right) and his fellow drug dealer Alex Anderson (left), both 30, became the first members of a county lines gang to be convicted of modern slavery offences by Bedfordshire Police 12 Class A drugs were found on the teenager exploited by Andall and Anderson Credit: Bedfordshire Police 12 Incriminating texts found on a phone in Andall's home helped nail him Credit: Bedfordshire Police Gary, though, says that 'there is always someone higher up', and that dealers keep finding new recruits. He says: 'They go to schools and care homes to slip them some cannabis and form a relationship with them. 'They might give you a top up for your phone, you'll think it's free, but nothing is free, there is going to be a pay day for that. 'They pull them into what is an organised crime group." 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The Irish Sun
2 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
I woke up with Ted Bundy looming over me with log… he shattered my jaw & left me to die but I survived in stroke of luck
KATHY Kleiner Rubin was in her second year at university when she was mercilessly attacked with a log by depraved serial killer, Ted Bundy. The Florida-born author is one of the few women to have survived an encounter with the sadist, who was later found guilty of rape, necrophilia, and murder. 11 Kathy Kleiner Rubin's first Christmas after she was attacked by Ted Bundy in 1978 Credit: Kathy Kleiner Rubin 11 Kathy (front right) with her Chi Omega sorority sisters Credit: Kathy Kleiner Rubin 11 Theodore Bundy, more commonly known as Ted, waved to a TV camera following his indictment for the murders of Lisa Levy and Margaret Bowman Credit: Getty Among his victims were 21-year-old Margaret Bowman and 20-year-old Lisa Levy, who were murdered just minutes before the 33-year-old launched his assault on Kathy. Bundy was executed in 1989, when he admitted to murdering at least 30 women in his four-year-long But his notoriety has lived on, with books and films often depicting the sadist as a charismatic killer who lured his victims with his good looks. Decades later, Kathy has revealed how she has found peace by giving a voice to his victims and exposing Bundy's "true" nature. Speaking exclusively to The Sun, she described him as a "loser and a sociopath" who craved the world's attention. NIGHT OF THE ATTACK When Kathy was attacked, she was a second-year student at Florida State University, living in Chi Omega sorority house with girls 'who felt like sisters'. She had spent the afternoon at a church friend's wedding but decided to head back early with her dormmate, Karen Chandler, to study for her calculus exam the following Monday. The pair's room was not dissimilar to any other dorm room: two single beds pushed against opposite walls, separated by a small trunk and a large bay window with curtains that remained open 'all the time'. Most read in The US Sun When they turned the lights off at around 11:30pm, Kathy fell straight to sleep. In the early hours of the morning, she awoke to the 'swish' sound of the carpet. I'm a criminologist - Ted Bundy stood no chance against one particular type of victim, it's why he never targeted them 'I remember squinting into the dark, not wearing my glasses, and seeing this black shadow standing above me, looking at me. 'I was just waking up a little bit and he had that log in his hand. "I can close my eyes and I can see my room. And I can see him standing over me. And this is something I'll never forget," she said. Wielding the same log he had used to kill her two much-adored sorority sisters, and which he had stolen from the house's fireplace, Bundy struck Kathy's jaw. 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In a stroke of immense fortune, the pair were saved when a couple returning home parked up beside the sorority house. I thought I was yelling and screaming for help but all I was doing was making gurgling sounds from all the blood in my mouth Kathy Kleiner Rubin The headlights flooded the room with light, startling Bundy, who ran away. Kathy said: 'I was moaning and groaning and I thought I was yelling and screaming for help but all I was doing was making gurgling sounds from all the blood in my mouth. 'He came back over to my side of the room so I tucked myself into the smallest ball. I thought if he didn't see me, he wouldn't kill me.' 'He looked at me. He raised his arm up over his head, but just as he was about to hit me again, a bright light shone through our window, 'He got real antsy and started moving around. Then he ran out of the room." I thought if he didn't see me, he wouldn't kill me Kathy Kleiner Rubin Whimpering, Kathy tried calling for help but managed no more than a few "gurgling sounds" through all of the blood. Karen was able to stumble to get help as Kathy passed out from the pain. She recalled: 'I woke up and a police officer was standing at the head of my bed looking at me. 'I touched my face and it was warm with blood. I was in excruciating pain – it felt like daggers and knives. But he just told me 'it's going to be OK.'' "I knew, having been so scared that this person was going to take care of me." PATH TO HAPPINESS Kathy never returned to university and spent the next nine weeks with her jaw wired shut at her parents' house in Miami. Therapy wasn't an option for the young girl who was raised by Cuban parents, where sweeping problems under the rug was the "done thing". Instead, her parents did all they could to help her physically recover and protect her from the trauma of what happened. "My mum wanted to shield me from the news and hearing about my sorority sisters so she would take the newspaper and cut all of the articles out that would mention Bundy," she said. One day they were a victim and the next day they became a survivor Kathy Kleiner Rubin Meanwhile, Kathy took "baby steps " to heal from the psychological wounds left from Bundy's attack - but also from the anger and sadness of leaving behind her freedom and friends at university. She said: "I walked outside and felt the sun on my face and looked up at the trees and saw each individual leaf, that's part of the branch, that's part of the tree. "And looking at the bugs on the ground and seeing how they interact. That's life. "And I wanted to be part of life. I wanted to be part of what was so natural." Kathy recognised exposure therapy would be crucial in her path to recovery so she got a job working at a lumber yard, where she would be surrounded by men everyday. 11 Kathy now lives in Florida with her husband Scott Credit: Kathy Kleiner Rubin 11 Kathy said sharing her story with the world has helped her heal and connect with other survivors Credit: Kathy Kleiner Rubin While she grew progressively less scared, dark thoughts of a figure standing behind her lingered. Leaning on her faith, she imagined herself walking away from the darkness - each day, taking one step closer to the "light" at the end of the road. She has since co-authored a book with writer Emilie Lebau-Luchessi, in which she revisited in painfully vivid detail the events of that night. Although challenging, Kathy said sharing her story with the world has helped her heal and connect with other survivors. "They just need to know that one day they were a victim and the next day they became a survivor. Read more on the Irish Sun "That survivor has to live the rest of their life and they can talk about it and they can feel it but they shouldn't dwell on it. "They need to move on and and not let this put them in a box but just take baby steps to heal themselves," she said. 11 Kathy graduating from high school Credit: Kathy Kleiner Rubin 11 Kathy in 1990, almost a decade after the attack Credit: Kathy Kleiner Rubin 11 Pregnant Kathy with her beloved 41-year-old son Michael Credit: Kathy Kleiner Rubin
Irish Daily Mirror
3 hours ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
'Nobody threatens my family, I don't care... so I've done what I've done'
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