Death penalty is abolished in Kazakhstan



Nursultan Nazarbayev, Kazakhstan’s President, has signed the law 
abolishing death penalty in all cases except acts of terrorism 
entailing loss of life and especially grave crimes committed in 
wartime. The law includes the right to seek pardon.

Abolishing the death penalty has been one of the main objectives of 
President Nazarbayev. Back in December 2003, the Kazakh President 
signed a presidential decree which imposed a moratorium on the death 
penalty. The moratorium remained in operation until the final 
abrogation of capital punishment in Kazakhstan this week.

This new law follows President Nazarbayev’s proposal of a series of 
political reforms in 2007 including capital punishment.

The law will adjust legislation on death penalty in accordance with 
the Kazakh Constitution. Amendments concerning crimes punishable with 
life imprisonment have also been added to the Criminal Code.

The resolution of the Committee for Legislation & Legal Reforms of 
the Majilis (the Kazakh Parliament’s Lower Chamber) with regard to 
the amendments to the Criminal Code on the issues of capital 
punishment was signed earlier this year, on March 25th, by Serik 
Baymaganbetov, Chairman of the Committee.

When Kazakhstan introduced a moratorium on death penalty in December 
2003, the decision was welcomed by the international community that 
acknowledged that this represented a fundamental advance in the 
promotion of human rights and an important contribution towards the 
universal abolition of the death penalty.


Author(s) :
Marston-Nicholson
Date :
20/07/2009

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