The death penalty in Kazakhstan causes a storm of emotions among local residents. Some advocate for this type of punishment, arguing that there are crimes for which one can and should take life. Others take the opposite position, preferring the humanistic principles of criminal law.
Development of new legislation
Currently, lawyers of the Republic of Kazakhstan are working on a draft new criminal law. The developers propose to follow international principles and exclude this type of punishment. In this regard, many citizens, both local and foreign, are wondering: "Is there a death penalty in Kazakhstan?"
In addition, lawyers indicate that the proposed changes are consistent with the development of modern society. The last death penalty in Kazakhstan sounded in a sentence about 15 years ago. The current code says that punishment is an exceptional measure that can be applied for criminal acts related to terrorism, resulting in loss of life. Also Art. 48 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan provides for the use of the death penalty in wartime when committing particularly serious crimes.
An analysis of the legislation suggests that this type of punishment can be imposed for the commission of one of 16 crimes, for 11 of which the consequences of the death of citizens are mandatory. At the same time, for the mercenarism, assassination of the current or first president, sabotage or terrorism, the death penalty is imposed regardless of the consequences.
No moratorium
The death penalty in Kazakhstan is not being executed now due to the fact that in 2003 a moratorium was imposed by the president. The peculiarity of this decision lies in the absence of the duration of the ban on the execution of sentences. A vivid example of a similar decision is the moratorium of the President of the Russian Federation on the death penalty, which was in effect until 2010. On the specified date, the head of state issued an order prohibiting judges from choosing this measure.
Now the death penalty in Kazakhstan is mandatory replaced by imprisonment. A judge can set a sentence for serving a sentence in a maximum security colony, or he can leave the offender in prison for life.
Surprisingly, as a form of punishment, the death penalty in Kazakhstan is still officially in force. Many spoke out for and against this state of things, but so far no consensus has been formed in society.
One of the deputies of the parliament even expressed the opinion that the question of the exclusion of this type of punishment is unlawful. However, he did not explain to journalists what his opinion was based on, and also refused to give any arguments in defense of his position.
Pro position
According to civil society, the death penalty in Kazakhstan is not subject to abolition, since it has a warning value. You must admit that it’s quite difficult to determine the crimes for which the punishment during military operations is due. So, in peacetime, certain actions do not matter to the state, while the same acts committed during the imposition of a state of emergency can determine the outcome of the battle.
During the period of hostilities, the psychology of people changes, they begin to think and act in a completely different way, as a result, new crimes arise. This means that there should be an opportunity to apply an adequate punishment corresponding to the seriousness of the consequences of the act.
The authorities are looking for arguments
The deputy prosecutor general of the republic said that he had not heard arguments that would convince him to advocate the abolition of this type of punishment. Johann Merkel believes that the death penalty in Kazakhstan should be maintained.
The official indicates that he does not see a reason for changing his own opinion. He believes that the phrase: “If you have the death penalty, then you are a backward state,” is absurd. In this case, the United States and Russia should take the lowest positions. Kazakhstan is an independent state, therefore, the prosecutor is convinced that no one can force him to change national legislation, including criminal law.
International standards
In today's world, there are double standards. On the one hand, the norms speak of the need to get rid of legislation from this preventive measure, and on the other, the society is against abolishing the death penalty. The representative of the FBI in the negotiations said that no one excluded this type of punishment from the legislation of the country. However, in order to share the positions of a civilized community, the president had to decide to reform the criminal law, which led to its mitigation. This is a vivid example of the manipulation of countries, including the United States. At the same time, the authorities of the Republic of Kazakhstan are convinced of their independence in decision-making and do not want to follow the lead of the international community.