Kazakhstan to Grant Amnesty to More Than 15,000 Inmates and Offenders

Kazakhstan’s Senate has passed a bill granting amnesty to more than 15,000 individuals in connection with the 30th anniversary of the country’s Constitution. The draft law, which has been approved by both chambers of parliament, will take effect once it is signed by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. According to the bill, approximately 4,100 individuals currently serving sentences will be fully released from criminal liability, while the sentences or penalties of an additional 11,000 convicts will be reduced or softened. However, only a small fraction of those covered by the amnesty, fewer than 1,000, are expected to be released from prison. As explained by MP Abzal Kuspan, 632 of those eligible for full release are currently incarcerated. The remaining 3,500 individuals to be released are to be placed under the supervision of the probation service and are serving non-custodial sentences. The amnesty targets individuals convicted of minor or moderate offenses, particularly those who have not caused harm or who have compensated for any damage caused. It also applies to socially vulnerable groups. Among those eligible are 833 women, of whom 109 will be released and 724 will have their sentences reduced. Only four of the 75 convicted minors in Kazakhstan will be granted amnesty, due to the fact that most underage offenders are serving sentences for serious or particularly serious crimes. “The reason is that minors in our country are mostly convicted of serious and particularly serious offenses,” Kuspan explained. The amnesty explicitly excludes individuals convicted of serious or particularly serious crimes, including corruption, terrorism, extremism, crimes against the sexual integrity of minors, torture, repeat offenses, and those serving life sentences. Currently, 624 people in Kazakhstan are imprisoned for corruption-related crimes, 294 for terrorism, 96 for extremism, and 48 for torture. In total, over 40,000 individuals are held in the country’s criminal justice system, which includes 63 penal institutions and 16 pre-trial detention centers. Of these, approximately 33,000 are convicted prisoners, while 7,000 are awaiting trial. In recent years, the Kazakh authorities have introduced a series of reforms aimed at strengthening the protection of the rights of detainees and convicts. These efforts are part of a broader push to improve transparency and accountability in the justice system.