ASTANA – The Mazhilis, the lower house of Kazakhstan’s Parliament, has approved a draft law granting amnesty to individuals convicted of crimes that do not pose a serious threat to public or state security, in honor of the 30th anniversary of the country’s Constitution at the plenary session on June 11.
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The document was prepared following President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s directive issued on April 1, 2025. The draft law aims to humanize criminal policy in line with the principle of humanism.
The draft law proposes granting amnesty to convicts whose crimes do not pose a serious threat to public or state security. This includes individuals convicted of minor criminal offenses, moderate-severity crimes that caused no damage or where damages were fully compensated for, and socially vulnerable persons convicted of medium-level crimes, regardless of damages or civil claims.
It also suggests terminating criminal cases, including those not considered by the courts, involving minor and medium-severity crimes committed before the law takes effect and reducing unserved sentences for serious and particularly serious crimes.
For persons convicted of embezzlement, misappropriation of entrusted property, or fraud, the draft allows for a reduction of one-fifth of the unserved sentence if full restitution has been made.
However, the law also proposes to establish restrictions on the application of amnesty to new criminal offenses such as intentional infliction of moderate and minor harm to health, assault, illegal disclosure of state secrets, or corruption-related crimes.
The law will not apply to persons who have committed particularly dangerous crimes.
The adoption of the draft law is expected to reduce the number of people held in penal institutions by releasing those convicted of crimes that do not pose a serious threat to public or state security.
