Kyrgyzstan Seeks Up to Five Years in Prison for Damaging Border Fences

Kyrgyzstan has put forward a bill that would make deliberate damage to state-border infrastructure a separate criminal offense, punishable by two to five years in prison.

The proposal would add Article 378¹ to the Criminal Code. It covers the intentional damage or illegal dismantling of engineering structures, barriers, border markers and other equipment used to mark and protect the state border. The bill's explanatory note says no specific criminal provision currently applies to such acts.

Its authors argue that damaging border infrastructure cannot be treated simply as property damage. In their view, the acts can create illegal crossing points and weaken the border protection system. About 320 kilometers of engineering barriers have been installed along the Kyrgyz-Tajik border, according to the document.

The proposal also cites data from the State Border Service showing that 71 smuggling attempts have been stopped since the beginning of the year. In some cases, the suspected smugglers damaged border barriers before moving goods illegally. The bill gives the example of two Kyrgyz citizens who allegedly cut barbed wire before trying to move 17 head of cattle and one horse into Tajikistan on June 16.

The authors note that conduct intended to undermine economic security, defense capability or stability can already qualify as sabotage under existing law. The bill was drafted by Jogorku Kenesh deputy Baktyyar Kalpaev, and its adoption would not require additional budget spending.