President Tokayev signs amnesty law linked to new constitution; more than 15,000 people to benefit

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has signed a law granting amnesty to a broad group of people in connection with the adoption of the country’s new constitution, the government announced. According to the text of the law made public by state outlets, the amnesty will apply to more than 15,000 individuals and includes both criminal-justice measures and, for the first time in Kazakhstan’s practice, relief for administrative offenses.

Under the terms of the new law, approximately 4,500 people may be exempted from criminal responsibility and punishment altogether. A further roughly 10,800 convicts are expected to see their sentences reduced. The beneficiaries will include people convicted of minor or moderate crimes, as well as some convicted of serious or very serious offenses who have fully compensated the damage they caused. For some of those covered, the outcome will be immediate release from detention; for others, the measure will result in a shortening of their existing sentences.

The law makes an unprecedented provision extending amnesty to certain administrative cases. Officials say that about 1 million administrative violations will be eligible for cancellation, representing some 17 billion tenge in unpaid fines. The authorities specifically noted that this amnesty will cover fines issued by executive agencies that had not been executed before the law’s entry into force, and that these waivers include penalties such as traffic fines. However, the legislation stipulates that fines imposed by courts are not subject to cancellation under this amnesty.

The amnesty is not all-encompassing. The law explicitly excludes people convicted of a list of grave offenses from its scope. Those convicted of terrorism, extremism, corruption, membership in organized criminal groups, torture, sexual violence against minors, as well as persons serving life sentences, will not be eligible for amnesty. The exclusions underscore authorities’ intent to limit the measure to particular categories of offending and to ensure that certain serious crimes remain outside the scope of clemency.

The latest amnesty adds to a long history of clemency measures in independent Kazakhstan. Officials note that this is the 13th amnesty in the country’s independent history; there have been 12 previous amnesties. A large-scale amnesty was enacted last year to mark the 30th anniversary of Kazakhstan’s independence and reportedly affected roughly 15,000 people. In November 2022, the authorities also carried out a smaller amnesty that applied to some participants in the January disturbances.

Human rights advocates and legal experts typically view amnesties through a dual lens: as potentially positive steps toward reducing prison overcrowding and correcting disproportionate punishments, but also as measures that can obscure the need for systemic legal reform if they become a substitute for long-term change. The inclusion of administrative offenses in the current measure is notable because it broadens relief beyond traditional criminal convictions to address the accumulated burden of unpaid administrative penalties on citizens.

The law’s practical impact will depend on implementing regulations and the procedures used by competent authorities to identify eligible individuals and violations. Officials have indicated that only unpaid administrative fines within the remit of executive bodies and not yet executed will be canceled; court-imposed fines will remain enforceable. For the thousands who stand to benefit from sentence reductions or releases, the law represents an immediate change to their legal status. For others, the cancellation of fines may bring tangible financial relief.

As the amnesty comes into force, monitoring by rights groups, legal practitioners and independent media will likely focus on how the exclusions are applied in practice and whether the process for identifying beneficiaries is transparent and consistent with legal safeguards. Given Kazakhstan’s recent history of protests and politically sensitive prosecutions, observers will also watch to see whether any politically motivated or high-profile convictions are affected by the measure.